Whispers in the Night
by Biscayne
Summary: It's a fic based on the Styx Quasi-musical, Kilroy Was Here. Please R&R. Titles are full in the originals.
1. High Time to Start a Revolution

It's high time to start a revolution.  
  
As the door shut behind him, the automated museum presentation started. Jonathan had been here before and knew what to expect, but it still startled him for a moment.  
  
"What's happenin' baby? My name's Jimi. Welcome to the Rock Museum. We have sex, drugs, destruction, perversion. Everything that makes life ugly," the tinny recorded voice preached at him. Jonathan poked at the Jimi Hendrix dummy; amused at the stereotypical outfit they gave him. An ironic half smile turned up the corner of his mouth, a smile that never made it to his deep green eyes. If this were a presentation about anything else it would be funny. But it wasn't about something else. He was in the Dr. Righteous Museum of Rock Pathology, and he found no particular humor in this particular subject.  
  
He walked further on through the dimly lit theater, paying vague attention to the show being played out for him but mainly looking out for the man he was there to meet. He stopped at the museum's final and biggest display, the re-enactment of the murder that rock star Robert Kilroy was convicted for. He watched it with disgust; the mechanical dummy dying over and over from the fatal blow the Kilroy dummy dealt it with an electric guitar. He was so absorbed in the drama before him that he did not notice the gray suited Roboto moving towards him in the concealing shadows.  
  
After the crusader for musical morality had been "murdered" numerous times, he could not take it anymore. Who the hell does Righteous think he is, thought Jonathan as he ripped the guitar out of the dummy's hand. The idea that rock music was inherently evil was ridiculous, and this museum that school groups filled every day only served to perpetuate Righteous' lies. Wires pulled out along with the guitar and the exhibit immediately ground to a satisfying halt.  
  
"Jonathan Chance."  
  
He spun, guitar still in hand, to find a Roboto standing in front of him. If one of those things reported back that he had been seen here, all of their hard work would be ruined. He lifted the guitar up to smash the Roboto over the head, unconsciously imitating the way Kilroy had supposedly murdered that protester at his last concert. Instead of moving to stop him, the Roboto merely pulled at its own neck, trying to remove its faceplate. The unexpected move stopped Jonathan in his tracks, guitar raised high over his head.  
  
"Kilroy?" He slowly lowered the guitar as the Roboto helmet came off and Robert Kilroy's face was revealed. He lowered the guitar to the ground, smiling in relief.  
  
"Kilroy, it's really you."  
  
"It's good to finally meet you Jonathan," Robert said, tucking the helmet under his arm. "I see you found my message about the Paradise Theatre." He held out a gloved hand to Jonathan.  
  
"When I heard on the news you'd escaped from prison, I knew you saw it when I jammed Righteous' TV show," Jonathan answered, shaking the proffered hand while sizing Kilroy up. His dark curly hair was peppered with more gray hairs than Jonathan had remembered, and there were more wrinkles at the corners of his hazel eyes, but all in all he looked much as he did five years ago when he was thrown in jail.  
  
"See it? You're the reason I broke out of there." Robert made an angry gesture with his hands as he talked. "All those months and years in that prison with those lousy robots and that greasy fried chicken. I never gave up hope. And when I heard your voice I knew that there was still someone out there who cared."  
  
Jonathan quickly moved to correct him. It's not just me. They're thousands of us out there who've had it up to here with this censorship crap. They're ready to do something about it, and do it now.  
  
At this Robert turned in to look more closely at his companion. His voice turned hard with caution. "Jonathan, If you're going to take righteous on you'd better be prepared 'cause he doesn't play games."  
  
In response, Jonathan's eyes glittered with dangerous promises. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm ready for him. Come on, a friend is waiting to take you to a safe house. I want you to see what we've done so far." Robert followed Jonathan out of the museum, thankful that he no longer had to wear that stifling Roboto helmet.  
  
**************  
  
"You lost him," he said quietly, almost too quietly. "Tell me how, with all the Robotos wired into our network, you could LOSE HIM!" Righteous screamed the last part of this sentence just inches from his assistant's face.  
  
Vanish fought to stop his involuntary flinch and tried to explain. "He was on a prison transport ship, sir. There are hundreds of Robotos being shuttled back to the city for reassignment, repair. Sir, you've been down at the docks. It's chaos when a ship comes in, it would be easy for him to get lost in the confusion." Vanish trailed off, looking at his superior. Righteous had his ice cold blue eyes riveted to his own, searching for some sign that Vanish was trying to lie to him, trying to cover something up. Vanish gazed back at him as steadily as he could. He was nervous about his failure and afraid of Righteous' anger, but he had nothing to hide. After a moment, Righteous was satisfied and abruptly turned away. Vanish relaxed with an almost audible sigh of relief.  
  
"Lt. Vanish, you received your promotion because you're the best man I have. If my best man cannot find one prisoner, what hope is there?" Righteous said sadly, obviously disappointed in Vanish's performance of his duties.  
  
Vanish responded quickly. "Sir, I promise you Kilroy will not remain free for long. I have people all over the city searching for him as we speak. He can't hide forever."  
  
"Good," Righteous responded, his deep voice filled with black pleasure at the thought of what he'd do to Kilroy once he was returned to prison. He glanced at the, tasteful, understated, and very expensive watch on his wrist. "It's almost time for the press conference. I have to remember to reiterate once again just how dangerous he is. This little escape of his might just work nicely for us. We'll look like saviors when we rescue the hard working people of Chicago from Kilroy. We'll portray him as a threat to all law-abiding citizens, and they'll be falling over themselves trying to be the one who turns him in." he glanced at his image in the mirror, soothing his dark blonde hair into place one last time before he turned to leave. He flashed his best grin at Vanish.  
  
"It's showtime."  
  
*****************  
  
Robert sat in the dimly lit corner unnoticed, watching the activity going on around him with interest. He had lain awake many a night in prison, wondering exactly how Chance organized his fellow saboteurs in their fight to destroy Righteous and restore the rights taken away by the politicians on Righteous' payroll. People were coming in and out of the abandoned bar, sporadically, bring news and problems to be solved. Jonathan was at the center of it all, answering questions and issuing instructions.  
  
When he'd first seen Chance in person Robert could not believe that this was the leader of the resistance against Righteous. A small man built like a Gymnast, he had dark blonde hair and a slight southern drawl. He carried no air of athourity, but it was clear that his gracefulness, his warm smile and easy self-confidence put people at ease and made him a natural leader. He was the perfect foil to Righteous' overpowering personality and false sincerity. When the last person turned to leave, Jon finally turned his attention to Robert.  
  
Sorry about that. There are a lot of details to take care of these days." He pulled up a chair next to Kilroy, taking a long drink from a bottle of water. Jon spoke again with a smile, gesturing to his friend who had driven them both here from Paradise. "It wasn't too long ago that it was just you and me, Vinny, sitting around your living room bitching about how much this whole thing pissed us off."  
  
"Yeah. Where were we supposed to pick up girls once the clubs all closed down?" Vinny joked, a heavy accent pegging him as a Chicago native.  
  
Jonathan smiled briefly at his friend's jest, but his expression turned abruptly serious as if preoccupied with some other thought. He hesitated for a moment as if o think about it, then continued in a determined voice. "Kilroy," he started uncertainly, not wanting to offend him but needing an answer. "I have to know. What happened that last night. did you kill that kid?"  
  
Within Robert anger flared momentarily at the question, but it quickly died. When would people stop accusing him of a crime he didn't commit? But Jonathan didn't know him, and he was risking his own safety by taking him in based on Robert's word alone. Jon was not at the concert and he had every right to know. When he spoke, however, he could not keep the bitterness out of his voice. "I never killed anybody, I was framed. That son of a bitch Righteous! He sacrificed one of his own men to put the final stamp of evil on me and rock 'n' roll."  
  
Jon stared at him intently. "What really happened that night?"  
  
Robert paced nervously as he spoke, unable to stand still and contain his frustration and anger at the memory. "I'll never forget it. Rumor had it that Righteous and his men were going to raid the concert, arrest me and everybody in the band. We didn't believe it-we didn't care. We knew we had to take that chance." He felt himself getting angry, and his voice getting louder. He stopped, took a deep breath, and continued more quietly. "Righteous' people stormed the stage, causing confusion and obscuring what they were doing from the audience. When all was said and done we were hauled off and arrested. The whole thing took only a few minutes," he trailed off in disgust.  
  
Jon nodded his head solemnly. "I wondered how he could have pulled off something like that in front of 5,000 people and not get caught. Put enough people around the stage and nobody on the floor would see a thing. So we can add murder to his list of crimes." His eyes conveyed the confidence Rob was hoping to see. Jonathan believed him.  
  
With relief he noticed that Jon glanced at his surroundings, abruptly changing the subject and considering the matter closed. "This place used to be a speakeasy back in the '20s. We have a number of places around the city where we meet, but I've always liked this one. It was built for secrecy, so the bar could operate away from the prying eyes of the prohibitionists. There are a few ways to get in and out of here without anyone noticing, and there are rooms upstairs where barmaids used to. entertain their guests," Jon said with a sly smile. "I think it's a perfect place you to stay awhile. We fixed up one of the rooms with a bed, and clean sheets. and our electrical wizards tapped into the main power system, so we have working lights. The only thing we weren't able to crank up was the oil furnace, so I'm afraid you'll be stuck with cold water to shower with."  
  
"Please don't apologize. What you've been able to accomplish here is remarkable. I don't know how to thank you." Rob started, but Jon cut him off.  
  
"No need to thank me. You were accused of a crime you didn't commit and you broke a law that should never have been passed in the first place. Anything we can do for you is our pleasure. Besides, you've become a hero to many people out there. Your escape has boosted everyone's morale. This is a major victory for us."  
  
Rob smiled and nodded in agreement. As a public figure he was used to being in the spotlight, though never before had it included hiding from the law. If they wanted to use him as a rally around, he'd play the part. but he had just one favor to ask in return.  
  
"Jonathan. do you think there's any way that I can contact my wife and let her know I'm ok?" He watched Jon's eyebrows come together as he considered the request. After a moment, he nodded his confirmation.  
  
"Sure," he said glancing at his friend. "Vinny, do you think you could take care of this?" After he got a nod of confirmation, he turned back to Kilroy and asked, "What's the message?"  
  
Now it was Rob's turn to think. He needed something short and sweet, yet something she would know came from him. He turned to the table and picked up a piece of paper to scribble a note on. He wrote, folded it in half and handed to Vinny, a look of deep gratitude on his face. "I wrote your address on the back. Thank you so much for doing this."  
  
Vinny smiled; it was obvious to see how much Kilroy still loved his wife. "It's my pleasure."  
  
As Jonathan was leading Kilroy up the stairs, Vinny could not resist the temptation and peeked at the note he had been handed to deliver. He read it briefly, shrugged mentally, and left to complete his night's work.  
  
Once back at the main meetinghouse, Vinny found Hope there, working as usual. A woman who'd been in the organization for almost 6 months now, she was a giant help to him. She was always there to do any chore he asked, and at almost any time he asked. She made false the saying 'it's hard to get good help these days'.  
  
"Hope, You're here," Vinny said with relief. "Can you do a favor for me? Something's come up and I was supposed to deliver a package to a contact we have at Leona's. Could you.?" She held her hand for it before the sentence was completed.  
  
"No problem," she said easily. Vinny sighed, grateful that there was one less detail left for him to worry over.  
  
"Thanks a million. You don't know what a help this is." She smiled at him, her green eyes regarding him kindly. They continued to talk as they both went outside to their separate destinations.  
  
"Vinny, You know I'm happy to help," Hope said. "I wish sometimes I could do more"  
  
"You do more than enough already. I don't want to push my luck," he joked. She smiled again and waved her goodbye as they headed off in different directions.  
  
****************  
  
Robert, left alone for the evening, didn't know what to do. It had been so long since he had been able to do whatever he wanted when he wanted to that he was unsure where to begin. Although it would be unwise for him to leave the building, the giddy feeling of freedom was difficult to contain. No locked doors, no listening to Righteous' sermons, no Robotos watching him. Compared to jail this was paradise.  
  
The knowledge that his wife was just a cab ride away, and that there was no one to stop him from going to her, was almost too much to bear. He knew that he couldn't go of course, but the mere fact that it was possible made him miss her even more than he had in years. Before, layers of guards and barbed wire stood between them, now fear for both their lives kept him away. He needed to do something to get his mind off such thoughts.  
  
He looked at the television sitting in the corner and rejected the idea of watching it immediately, for he was way too restless to sit still for long. Robert decided to explore his surroundings, as he was likely to be spending a lot of time there. The bar was not large, taking up just two floors and a finished basement. If he stood in the front doorway looking in he could see most of the first floor, which was dominated by the main room. It was a large open area with wooden floors, some old round tables and chairs scattered around it. Looking about, he could almost imagine it filled with hundreds of people, laughing and dancing the night away. If he strained hard he could almost imagine he heard the ragtime music and smelled the bathtub gin. The racks behind the bar still had some glasses lined up, ready for use, but the bottles of whatever they sold here were long gone.  
  
Directly to his left was a stairway leading to the second floor. There were a half a dozen rooms up there, all but one seeming to be bedrooms, plus a bathroom with a shower attachment fitted to the old claw footed tub. One of the rooms had obviously been used as an office, as there was a wonderful old roll top desk that had some yellowed papers strewn on it. The place looked as if it had been abandoned in a hurry, and the occupants could come back any moment. It was ridiculous, of course, as that was 70 years ago, but their spirit still inhabited the place. It felt comfortable to be there, and it seemed appropriate that Jonathan's group used this place. It had always been a place of resistance, then as now.  
  
The most amazing thing to him, however, was the old upright piano standing forgotten in the far corner of the main room. He ran his hand along it gently, respect for the old instrument making his touch light. If only it worked, he thought. To be able to play again, after all this time. it was a dream he hardly dared to entertain. The piano was ancient, and probably damaged beyond repair. The bar felt warm and dry, though, and it made him hopeful that the piano had not sustained too much damage, since humidity was lethal to wooden instruments.  
  
He hit a few keys, and was rewarded with some sound. It was horribly out of tune, but as long as the thing produced some sound there was something he could work with. Tuning a piano without the proper tools is very difficult, but not impossible, and very time consuming. It looked to him as if he'd have ample time to work on it. He made a mental note to ask Jonathan about getting some of the things he'd need to fix it the next time he saw him.  
  
Wandering on, he found his way to the rooftop. The view from here was anything but impressive, surrounded by squat ugly abandoned buildings. There was no view of downtown Chicago although he knew it lay just to the north. But the air was unusually cool, and the sky was clear enough to see some stars even with the urban light pollution.  
  
It had literally been years since he had been able to sit and look at the stars. Thinking back on it, he realized that in prison they were never allowed outside. The recreation area was just a large indoor space, and during his escape he had climbed up many levels just to get to the deck of the prison ship. His cell didn't have any windows of any sort. He stayed up there for hours, simply enjoying the fresh air and open space, not thinking of much of anything at all.  
  
************  
  
Jonathan waited impatiently for the door to open, shifting from one foot to the other. Finally a familiar face presented itself.  
  
"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" This was not the greeting he was hoping for. The look on his girlfriends face was a strange mixture of emotions he could not read.  
  
He leaned against the door jam and smiled at her in what he hoped was his most winning way. "Hi there, Sam. I was just thinking about you and I thought I'd drop by"  
  
"You were, were you? It seems to me you never come by anymore unless you want something." Her voice was so chilly it made him wince.  
  
"I guess I deserve that. I haven't been around much lately," he said as he glanced over his shoulder, a movement she noted with curiosity. "Listen, can I come in?" She responded by opening the door wider and stepping aside.  
  
He entered her apartment and seated himself on the couch. She stood by the coffee table with he arms crossed. After a moment of silence where she waited for him to say something, she jumped right in to what was bothering her.  
  
"I tried calling you last night and you weren't home. Where were you?" She asked, watching him closely as he screwed up his face trying to remember.  
  
"Let's see, I got off work at seven. got home and jumped in the shower. I went to make dinner and realized there was no food in the house so I had to run out to the supermarket. It was almost nine before I ate." He finished with chagrin, his lie sounding hollow even in his own ears.  
  
"Jon I called you later than that. I got jour answering machine," Samantha frowned at him, not allowing him to escape that easily.  
  
Jonathan felt he had no choice but to continue on the same path. "If you called after eleven I was dead asleep. You know how I never her the phone." She merely nodded. He cocked his head to one side, looking at her. He knew she didn't believe him. Unfortunately, this was not the first time this had happened, but he'd never seen her so angry before. He rose from the couch and walked over to where she was standing. Before he could ask her what was wrong the phone rang. Samantha answered it with annoyance.  
  
"Hello? Hold on." She held the phone out to Jonathan. "It's Vinny." Before he could say hello Vinny started in.  
  
"Jon, thank god I found you. Turn on Channel 9 right now."  
  
Something in the tone of Vinny's voice sent shivers down Jon's spine. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and flipped the TV on.  
  
"-onathan Chance is wanted for aiding and abetting the escape of convicted murderer Robert Kilroy. Chance is seen here captured on MMM video attempting to disrupt one of Dr. Righteous' record burnings earlier this month. If you have any information on the whereabouts of this criminal please call 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential and any tip that leads to an arrest and conviction will be eligible for a $10,000 reward."  
  
Across the line came Vinny's voice. "Jon?"  
  
"Yeah, I see it," Jonathan responded mechanically. He looked on in stunned silence as that segment of the news ended with 5-year-old footage of Kilroy being led away to jail in handcuffs.  
  
"Jon.." Vinny started gingerly, hating what he was about to say. "You know what you have to do, right? If you don't leave now you'll be in jail by daybreak." He waited as he got nothing but silence on the other end of the line. When Jonathan finally answered him, his voice sounded dry with defeat.  
  
"Yeah, fine. Call Anne and see if she can do it tonight."  
  
"You gonna be ok?" Vinny asked, concerned for his friend. They knew eventually this would happen and they knew what to do, but even knowing that could not prepare him for the fact that his whole life as he knew it was over.  
  
"I'll be fine. I'll be out of here in two minutes. I'll meet you later."  
  
"Sure." Vinny hesitated for a moment "Jonathan. I'm sorry."  
  
"So am I, Vinny. So am I." He hung up the phone and looked up to see Samantha staring at him in disbelief.  
  
"Jonathan? Did you really help him escape?" she asked. Instead of the supportive tone he'd hoped for, she sounded angry and confused.  
  
Jonathan cursed under his breath. He was dreading this, the moment when he had to answer all of these questions. Even though he knew this was coming, he still didn't know what to say. He understood how she felt - over the months he had gotten more and more involved with the resistance, and as a consequence had grown away from her. He would disappear for days, and after standing her up countless times no excuse he gave would be believable. There were just no good answers to those questions other than the truth, and he wasn't prepared to give her that.  
  
Jonathan tried to hedge the question as best as possible, but she was not allowing it. "There's a logical explanation for everything-" he started, but she cut him off angrily.  
  
"Please tell me. I'd love to hear it." Her voice was indeed angry, yet hopeful at the same time. A part of her still believed that there had to be some logical reason for all of this. She prayed for him to say something, anything that she could grasp onto.  
  
What she got instead was stone silence. He couldn't make up some lie for her, for she'd seen the same newscast he had. So it was tell her all, or tell her nothing. He ached to reveal everything, share his dreams and fears with her. But then she would be involved, an accessory to the numerous crimes he had perpetrated in the course of his resistance work. Entangling her in his problems was the last thing he wanted. Jonathan sighed, and for the first time that night she realized how tired he looked. He ran one hand through his hair as he paced the floor. After a moment he turned to face her and took a deep breath, as if he were about to plunge under water.  
  
"Would you believe me when I say I can't tell you?" Jon responded, hoping against hope that she would let the matter rest.  
  
No such luck. She repeated her question again desperately. "Did you help him escape, Jon? Him, a convicted murderer?"  
  
Jonathan suddenly realized that she believed the lies spouted by Righteous. He answered her angrily, "He didn't kill anyone, he was framed."  
  
"And how do you know that, Jon? Did he tell you he didn't do it and you just believed him?" Jen responded sarcastically.  
  
"Yes, I do believe him." He continued on, growing angrier by the minute at the look of disbelief on her face. "He didn't kill that kid. And even if he did, does that make Righteous' laws any easier to swallow? The man has taken away our freedom of expression, a right guaranteed to us by our founding fathers over 200 years ago. No one can take that away from me without a fight."  
  
She shook her head in incredulity. "You're crazy for getting mixed up in this, Jonathan. This isn't your fight."  
  
He tried one last time to reason with her. " Samantha, it IS my fight, mine and yours and everyone else's. Ignoring it won't make it go away." He stopped, a melancholy smile on his face. "Besides, it's a little too late for me to do that now." He faced her hopefully, wanting her to agree with him, say that she understood and would stand by him. But all he got in response was a look full of accusations.  
  
Samantha couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could he keep her in the dark about something so important? She needed to know what was happening, and she insisted upon more answers. "How long has this been going on? And exactly how long were you going to keep it a secret from me?"  
  
He refused to answer her, disappointment coloring his voice. "Look, Samantha . if all you want to do is argue I don't have the time for it. I have to go." He turned to leave, half expecting her to call after him. The door closed in the lock without a word from her. He paused for a moment in the hallway, giving her one last chance. When he had waited a handful of heartbeats he continued out the building, never looking back.  
  
**************  
  
Across town Molly read the note for the hundredth time. Hope and despair warred inside her. Could it really be from him? She had begun to give up hope. His face was all over the video, and it seemed impossible that he could elude Righteous for long. It certainly looked like his handwriting, but that could be forged all too easily. Besides, who else other than Robert would have known to write this? Yet the possibility that Righteous had gotten personal information from him to use against him was too real for her to ignore.  
  
Molly, Everything's ok. Play the birthday tape  
and think of me.. I love you.  
  
No one else knew about that tape. Right after they had gotten married and Robert was just starting out, he had written Molly a song because he could not afford to purchase a birthday gift for her. It was just a home recording of him on his piano. and it was the most wonderful gift she'd ever received. She had told no one else that he had done this, not even her sister, for she felt it was a very special and private gift and did not want to share it with anyone else. She knew her husband had never told anyone else either. confused, she folded the note and stuck it in her pocket. She walked into the bedroom and moved the mattress aside from the box spring. A flap of the box spring's material had been cut away and later replaced, making a crude storage place. A few lonely audiocassettes lie wedged between the springs, unnoticed when Righteous and his Robotos had searched her home all those years ago. She took the tape over to her answering machine and played it, listening to her husband's sweet voice sing to her through the tiny speaker. With tears in her eyes, she breathed a silent prayer for his safety.  
  
***********  
  
Vinny let himself into Jonathan's small apartment. It was so barren of personal affects it looked as if no one actually lived there. All of the things Jonathan treasured - his cd's, sheet music and guitar - were hidden in a storage room he paid for, cash in advance, and registered under a fake name. Over the months as the resistance grew he had slowly gotten rid of most whatever other personal items he had, until all that the apartment contained was minimal furniture and his clothes. Vinny had teased him about this, saying he was being paranoid and living like a soldier in a barracks. Now he reflected that it was a good thing he did. all Vinny had to do was throw Jon's clothes and toiletries in a bag and go. Luckily the Robotos outside the building who were to watch for Jonathan were doing just that - watching for Jonathan. They did nothing to bar his entry and once inside there was no one watching the apartment.  
  
Taking no chances, he worked in the dark with only the streetlight to illuminate his movements. In minutes Vinny was done and gone.  
  
**************  
  
Anne stretched, straightening out the kinks that developed in her back from long hours at the computer screen. She hated the night shift - it was spooky to be in an office building late at night. Her telephone rang, cutting though the silence.  
  
"Hello, tech support, Anne speaking." "Anne, its Vinny. What's up?" Like a shot of morning coffee she was instantly alert. Vinny never called her at work. If he did something must be very wrong. She strove to keep her voice light in case anyone else walked by.  
  
"Vinny. nothing much. What's up by you?"  
  
"Anne, I have a favor to ask you. You know that afghan you knitted for our friend last month? Someone else wants you to do one for him." So. Someone else was in danger of being arrested by Righteous. She sighed, thinking that this was a job she was having to perform more and more often.  
  
The euphemism "knitting an afghan" came to represent wiping someone's records out of the MMM database because it would throw a very effective blanket of secrecy over that person. It was an irrevocable action though, because once you were out of the system a new MMM ID could only be issued by applying to the federal government for one, a lengthy process.  
  
People rarely realized just how often you used that ID unknowingly and how closely the government could track you with it. Every time you used your library card, rented a movie or parked your car in a public lot it was noted down for whomever in the government cared to look to find out about it. She didn't even want to think about how much they knew about you from your bank account and employment files. Without an ID you could not get a driver's license, rent an apartment, or hold down a job. On the plus side, and this was the reason such a drastic measure was worth taking, without an ID in the system it was much more difficult for a Roboto to recognize you. When it went to access a picture of you none would be available and they passed you by, assuming you to be a foreign visitor. Only if a Roboto was alerted to your behavior for some reason would it attempt to access the criminal files, which Anne could not affect. Whoever it was she was wiping from the system would still have to limit their movements around the city, being extremely careful, but it would allow them a modicum of freedom. At this point, even what little she could for them would be welcome.  
  
In the end it was a devastating blow in this highly paranoid society, for a person without ID could not do much. Without an ID, a regular life was almost impossible.  
  
She finally answered with an air of disinterest. "Sure Vinny, no problem. You know those little tags I put on there that say "Made with love by Anne for 'blank'? Who's name should I personalize it with?"  
  
"Bob," he said carefully. Bob? Her mind raced. She knew no one named Bob. unless he meant Jonathan Chance. They had given him that code name months ago, when they first felt that secrecy was needed.  
  
"Bob wants an afghan?" She wanted to make sure she understood what he wanted her to do. If Jon was in trouble, there were many people including herself who would also be in jeopardy if he were captured.  
  
"I know, you never thought you'd be knitting him an afghan. But his place is very cold this time of year so he really does need one." Vinny understood her hesitancy, but he was trying to communicate the urgency of the situation without letting on who they were actually taking about. You never knew who was listening in on phone conversations when you worked in MMM Regional Operations.  
  
Anne sighed in resignation. "If Bob wants an afghan, an afghan is what he'll get."  
  
"Thanks a lot. You think you can start on it after work?"  
  
"Sure, no problem. I'll give you a ring when it's done."  
  
"Anne, you're the best," Vinny told her, his voice thick with relief. She was invaluable to their operation, and he knew how lucky they were to have someone with her integrity and access to information as an ally. Vinny realized that if she were ever caught she most probably would be jailed for life. He was hoping she knew just how much they valued her help, and perhaps she did. What he got from the other end of the phone, however, was a snicker.  
  
"I'll bet you say that to all the girls, Vinny."  
  
After they hung up, she immediately started to do a search on Jonathan's MMM ID code. When she accessed the system it was already highlighted in bright red, a code that the person was wanted by MMM authorities. If the code was activated he was to be picked up at once. If she had any question that Vinny was referring to Jonathan, it was gone now. She did a system wide search for anywhere his ID occurred and one by one wiped them out. Within the hour, Jonathan Chance no longer officially existed.  
  
**************  
  
The echoes of his scream were still ringing off the walls of his bedroom when he came fully awake. Vanish sat up in bed and looked around the room wild-eyed for a moment until he realized where he was. His shoulders slumped in relief, and his ragged breathing calmed. He'd had one of his dreams again, and he realized with anxiety that they were becoming more frequent. In this one he was in one of Righteous' interrogation rooms, but instead of overseeing a prisoner's questioning, he himself was strapped into Hyde's chair. Both Hyde and Righteous were hovering around him, barraging him with questions he could not answer. Thirsty, dirty and sleep deprived, he would have said anything they wanted to hear at that point, anything to make them stop. But no matter what he said they were not satisfied, and their torture continued. The desperation he felt left a bitter taste in his mouth even now.  
  
He shook his head to clear the image from his mind, and he got out of bed. After a dream such as this, there would be no more sleep for him tonight. He pulled a bathrobe around himself and shuffled into the kitchen to make some tea, there to contemplate the latest in his series of nightmares.  
  
*****************  
  
Robert gripped the lamp tightly, creeping down the stairway as quietly as possible. He had heard some sounds coming from downstairs as he was drifting off to sleep and instantly came alert. He grabbed the first thing he could find as a weapon and went down to meet whoever was coming into the bar at one in the morning.  
  
The person entering the bar was not attempting to hide their movements. The  
  
overhead light flared to life and Robert watched as Jonathan sank into a chair and leaned forward, head in hands. He looked desolate and very much alone.  
  
Rob stood there for a moment awkwardly, feeling as if he were spying on him. He had no idea if Jonathan would want company, or want to be seen by anyone that way. He walked back up the stairs, put the lamp down, and returned again very nosily. This time, Jonathan was on his feet looking up toward him.  
  
Robert yawned and stretched exaggeratedly. "Hey there, Jonathan. what time is it?"  
  
When Jon responded Robert could hear the strain in his voice. "It's late. I'm sorry I woke you, go on back to bed."  
  
"Don't worry about it. I was having trouble sleeping anyway." He pulled up a chair and sat down in it. Jonathan reseated himself in his chair wearily.  
  
Rob probed gently, trying to find out what was bothering his companion. "Long day?"  
  
"The longest." A long pause, then a question. "Kilroy, when you were in jail did you have any contact with your wife?"  
  
Robert was a bit surprised at the non sequitur, but he answered it nonetheless. "Some. She wasn't allowed to visit, but she sent me some letters. They were opened when I got them, so I knew Righteous read them as they came in. She must've known that too because they were always kind of cold and impersonal."  
  
"But she stood by you through it all," Jon said softly. Robert heard the disappointment in his voice, but did not know why it was there. He just answered Jonathan's question with as much tact as he could.  
  
"Yes, she did. But we've been married for a long time, you know." In response, Jonathan merely nodded. He looked up at that moment as if he heard something and went quickly to the window. A moment later Robert also heard footsteps and Jon opened the door to admit Vinny. "Any problems?" Jonathan asked him as he took a duffel bag from him.  
  
"Nah. Those Robotos are dumb as a lamppost. The only person they were told to look for was you, so I breezed in and out of there."  
  
"There are Robotos looking for Jonathan?"  
  
Vinny turned to answer Robert's question. "Yeah, didn't you see the news?" He gestured to the tv they had set up in the main area. "Jonathan got fingered so he's got to stay out of sight for a while. Looks like you're going to have a housemate."  
  
Robert shook his head, a worried look on his face. "I didn't see it. I didn't turn that thing on at all tonight. I've seen enough tv for one lifetime." Jonathan thought about the propaganda Kilroy was forced to view while in prison, and he believed he'd feel the same way if it were him.  
  
Jon confirmed what Vinny had said. "Well, I saw it. With my face on the evening news I can't stay at home anymore. There's enough room here for both of us, and if I do need to leave it's remote enough that I can pretty much stay out of sight."  
  
Robert rose and walked over to him, a sad look on his face. "Jonathan, I'm so sorry this had to happen." Jonathan looked at him, slightly surprised. He had not expected such sympathy from a man who he barely knew. On the other hand, he and Kilroy were now in the same boat. Only a man who has lost everything can fully understand what that feels like.  
  
Jonathan nodded his thanks, and responded. "It was inevitable, I guess."  
  
Robert picked up one of Jon's bags and carried it up the stairs for him, calling down to Jonathan. "You can have the room next to mine . as long as you don't snore."  
  
A shadow of a smile passed over Jon's face. He bid Vinny good night and followed Robert up to his new home. 


	2. Just another Peice of the Puzzle just an...

It's just another piece of the puzzle, just another part of the plan.  
  
Anne hung up the phone, curiosity filling her. It was early in the morning, the end of her work day, and Dr. Righteous had just called to ask her to stop by his office on the way out. It was an unusual request, but not unheard of. She rode the elevator up wondering what Righteous wanted to talk to her about. She peered her head into the spacious office, knocking on the half open door.  
  
Righteous looked up at the knock and smiled when he saw who it was. "Morning, Anne."  
  
Anne entered the office, looking around her. It had been a long time since she'd been up there. "Morning, Everett. How are you?"  
  
"Fine, fine. Please have a seat. Coffee?" he asked, motioning with his hand toward a chair for her to occupy.  
  
"No thanks, it'll keep me up all day."  
  
Righteous' eyebrows came together in confusion for a moment, then his face cleared. "Ah yes, I keep forgetting, the night shift. Why do you like working nights anyway?"  
  
He had no idea she really hated the night shift, because she herself had requested it. "I get a lot more work done with less people around," Anne answered cryptically, settling back into the leather chair. "So, what can I do for you today?"  
  
"It's not what you can do for me, it's what I can do for you." At her puzzled look, he smiled and continued. "Anne, how long have you been here?"  
  
"Almost eight years."  
  
He nodded. "From the beginning. And still you're stuck in a room pecking away on a keyboard."  
  
Anne smiled at his vision of her at work. "Everett, I'm a programmer. I have to work on a computer - that's what I do."  
  
"But wouldn't you like something more?" Righteous asked. "A measure of control, some decision making power of your own?"  
  
She shrugged in indifference. "I've never been interested in managing others. I enjoy my work."  
  
"Well, I think it's time I gave you a promotion." He leaned toward her, face filled with delight. "I'd like you to take over the special projects division." "Well, Everett. that's very generous of you." She sounded less than thrilled, but somehow Righteous did not seem to notice. She had no desire to do anything other than what she was currently doing. Anne wondered if there was any way she could refuse this promotion without seeming ungrateful. Before she had a chance to think of some way around it, Righteous was talking again.  
  
He came around the table to perch on the edge in front of her chair, "I think you're going to really enjoy this job," he smiled at her, obviously happy with himself. "Now I want you to take today off. Come in tomorrow morning and I'll show you your new office, your staff, everything. I'll have someone stop by to go over your new compensation package with you."  
  
That seemed to be that. Anne stood to leave and looked at Righteous, shaking her head. "Everett, I don't know what to say."  
  
He shrugged off her vague comment, choosing to see it as gratitude. "No need to thank me. You deserve this." Righteous smiled and added, "How about we have dinner tonight and we can discuss the details of your assignment?" She nodded and as she shook his hand in farewell, she wondered how she was going to break the news to Vinny.  
  
****************  
  
In another part of the complex, Col. Hyde watched his prisoner dispassionately. He had been with him for more than an hour, and had already extracted some interesting pieces of information from him. Hyde was probing to see what else he could find out from the resistance worker.  
  
"So," Hyde said, the sound of his voice sending shivers down the prisoners' spine. "You were on your way to pick up some flyers. Is that all?"  
  
"Yes, I told you, I was just going there to pick up flyers, that's it," the man babbled, shaking his head in desperate confusion, wishing he had some other answer for Hyde so that he would stop. He could barely move it from side to side, as he was bound in place to prevent him from turning away from the screen. Sweat he could not wipe away ran down his face and stung his eyes, the ones he could not close to shut out the messages being fed to him.  
  
Hyde was standing behind and to the left of him watching the screen over his shoulder, reflecting on his next question. The soft dangerous voice floated through his consciousness once more as Hyde leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "Let me ask you again. Where is Kilroy hiding?"  
  
Still no response other than a shaking of the head. Hyde went back to a previous question. "Where is Chance hiding?" "I don't know where they are!" he answered frantically. Hyde had asked him the same questions over and over, trying to break him, but he simply did not know. Hyde spoke with contempt, letting his prisoner know exactly how unhappy he was. "How could you not know? You're a member of his organization."  
  
"You don't understand. Almost no one gets to see him. He gives orders through others." Hyde thought this over. Of course. Layers of secrecy wrapped every level of their organization, making questioning such as this useless. He had to give Chance credit, he knew what he was doing.  
  
"So how do you get your orders?" Hyde asked.  
  
"I'm not really getting orders," the captive responded uncomfortably, knowing Hyde wouldn't like that answer. He was right; Hyde increased the power on whatever hellish machine he was hooked up to and he bit back a scream.  
  
"You've gotta believe me! I'm new, they don't give new people any information!" Hyde let up on him. he was most probably telling the truth about this. He tried a different tack. "So how do you get into contact with them?"  
  
His prisoner looked relieved and answered him quickly. "They run organizational meetings every Tuesday night."  
  
"Where?" Hyde snapped.  
  
His prisoner responded immediately, grateful for anything that would distract Hyde from the machine's controls. "In the meat packing district. There's an old warehouse on Clark St."  
  
"But Chance is never there?" he probed again.  
  
"I've never seen him, you've gotta believe me!" he said desperately, afraid of the punishment he might receive if Hyde thought he was holding back information. A different picture came onto the screen, a still taken from a video of Jonathan and Vinny fleeing the scene of a disrupted demonstration.  
  
Hyde tried one last time, thinking the picture might jog his prisoner's memory. "The blonde. You have never seen him?"  
  
"No. but the other guy, he sometimes runs the meetings," he responded, trying to cooperate in any way possible.  
  
Hyde thought about this piece of information. Perhaps he could not find Chance, but he might be able to find someone who could lead him to Chance. "What is his name?"  
  
"Ummmm. something like Kenny, or maybe Vinny. Yeah that's it, Vinny."  
  
"And his last name?" Hyde urged.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Hyde pushed on. "Are you sure you don't know his last name?"  
  
The pain in his head increased, and he practically screamed his quick reply. "I don't know, I swear I don't know!"  
  
Hyde fished for any bits of information he might be able to use. "Will he be at the next meeting?"  
  
"I don't know, he doesn't show up every time," the resistance worker answered, desperate for Hyde to believe him.  
  
Hyde thought about this. At this point he was certain that the man was telling all that he knew. He turned his machines off abruptly, and the prisoner slumped in relief. Hyde leaned forward and talked in his ear again, his voice harsh and terrible. "You had better have been telling me the truth. You wouldn't like to see what I do to people who lie to me."  
  
He turned and left then, leaving the injured man to the care of the Robotos. This session had not produced the information he hoped for, but perhaps something just as good. Before this, Hyde had no idea that the man in the picture with Chance was anyone significant. but now he knew this man was a leader in the resistance, important enough to be conducting meetings. More significantly he had found a connection to Chance, and therefore to Kilroy. If Hyde could not get in through the front door, perhaps the back would be unlocked. His spy, lurking in their organization for some time, now had a goal - a specific person to befriend. This was their first real opportunity at finding out where Kilroy and Chance were hiding. Hyde smiled to himself, feeling the noose slowly close around his prey. Within a short time they would be his.  
  
Later that evening, Hyde lurked at the edge of the shadows that gathered in the corners of his office. He lit it with only one desk lamp, which left much of the rest of the room in darkness. He preferred it that way, but he noted that it made his visitor nervous. Even better.  
  
"Do you have something for me?" It was apparent to him that his informant had to gather courage before speaking.  
  
"Yes. Here's some information I found out about the next general organizational meeting that they're planning. Where, when, it's all there." Hyde took the paper without glancing at it. He kept his eyes riveted on his caller, trying to see the reaction to his questions.  
  
"Will Chance be there?"  
  
Hyde's agent spoke negatively. "Almost definitely not. He's gone underground; no one's seen him in weeks. But I think he's still in charge - nothing's changed to indicate someone else is now calling the shots. Which means someone is still in contact with him, wherever he is."  
  
Hyde nodded in satisfaction. "Which means we can unearth him. I want you to find some way to work with this man." With that Hyde handed a picture of Vinny to his double agent.  
  
"Why would he lead us to Chance?"  
  
Hyde watched his informant's face carefully as he answered, always looking for weakness. "He's been known to act in concert with Chance in the past. Perhaps he still is. It's worth looking into."  
  
The informant nodded. Hyde thought that the resistance spy had stayed in his presence long enough, and he was satisfied that the import of this assignment was understood. It was also understood that he would be there in the shadows to make sure that what he wished done was done. The penalty for failure was crystal clear.  
  
"Thank you," he said with an air of finality and dismissal. "You'll report on your normal schedule and we'll see how far you've gotten." The spy nodded and left, and Hyde read over the report left behind with pleasure. Yes, he thought, I'm coming. Can you feel my breath on the back of your neck yet? Soon. soon he would have the pleasure of both Jonathan Chance and Robert Kilroy's presence in his rehabilitation center. He picked up the phone to start the arrangements he would have to make for the resistance's next meeting.  
  
********  
  
The next evening, a small group of people gathered in the bar to meet with Jonathan. They were Jonathan's closest allies, and those people he felt he could trust. Besides Vinny, there were only two others: Harry, a mechanic who worked in an MMM owned shop and Eddie, who drove a newspaper delivery truck. Both of these men were in prime positions to wreak havoc on Righteous' plans.  
  
Robert was in attendance, but once introductions were made he had little to say. He had been thinking about the state of the organization and he had some ideas, but for now he was content to sit back and watch the interaction between Jonathan and his people. Before he was ready to speak his mind, he wanted a better idea of how things worked. He sat at the edge of the group, listening and idly examining the tools Vinny had brought for him to tune the piano. He could not get the proper tools he needed, but with the collection of wrenches and the electronic guitar tuner he might be able to do something. Since purchasing musical equipment had become more difficult than buying a handgun in most states Robert wondered where Vinny got the tuner. A pitch pipe would have been even better, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.  
  
Vinny opened the meeting with some bad news - Anne had called him earlier that day to tell him that she would be reducing the assistance she could provide from within the MMM. Vinny expressed some concern, as she had been very vague and evasive when he questioned her as to why she could no longer help out.  
  
Unfortunately that was not the only bad thing that had happened in the past days to keep them concerned. The main topic of conversation was the arrest of one of their volunteers. Eddie oversaw the creation and circulation of anti-Righteous flyers, having access to printing presses and distribution points all over the city. Currently Eddie was using a small bodega to run his operation out of - and as the owner was friendly to their cause, she sometimes allowed Eddie to use her stockroom as one of his pickup spots. The person arrested was on their way to meet Eddie and pick up a stack of flyers to hand out at the next Righteous rally. If Righteous had spotted him at a rally, it made no sense that he would let him walk away from that and arrest him later. Also, because he were arrested en route to meet Eddie, it was apparent that someone knew where he was going and why he was going there.  
  
All resistance operations were kept decentralized and mobile for security reasons, and this demonstrated exactly why Jonathan had insisted it be kept that way. In a worst case scenario, if someone was arrested they only had access to a limited amount of information, and could only identify a small number of people.  
  
The individual who was late was new to the organization but came highly recommended, and so far had been totally reliable. If he said he'd be there at a certain time and he did not show, something was wrong. Once Eddie realized what was  
  
happening it took him only minutes to close up shop and evacuate. Eddie returned hours later to see what had transpired, and sure enough the police had been there and searched the store thoroughly. Luckily for the storeowner Eddie was more thorough and left no trace of his ever being there. The police had no recourse but to apologize to the storeowner for the inconvenience, and they walked out with no usable  
  
information. This incident was, however, way too close for comfort.  
  
All evidence pointed to an informer, but with the number of people who knew  
  
about this distribution point it could have been one of dozens of people. Eddie was trying to narrow down the list of where the leak might be, but it looked like a futile exercise. There were just too many people who knew about it.  
  
After they spent some time attempting to help Eddie with his security problem, they abandoned the fruitless search and went over the other events that had transpired over the last week or so. Besides Eddie's flyer distribution, Harry counted off numerous Robotos he sent out that had small but lethal defects that they hadn't come in with. He and some others were also working on creating a device that disrupted the communications software that the MMM used to coordinate all their Robotos. Although these efforts were effective in disrupting Righteous' organization, they were merely annoying little mosquitoes to him. Jonathan wanted to be a swarm of locusts descending upon him, bent on destroying his crop of lies.  
  
They found themselves in the midst of a brainstorming session, trying to discover some way of fighting Righteous in a significant way. Their network of resistance fighters ran all through the city, ensconced in all sorts of places. Without solid proof of Righteous' illegal activities, however, there was little they could do. Until now they had waged a war of small skirmishes which delivered small victories. With Robert's escape it was time to turn up the heat and try to deliver a fatal blow to their enemy. It all hinged on the public's perception of Righteous' morality. If they could prove that he acted in his own self interest rather than the publics, if they could expose him for the fraud that he was, they would be able to loosen his strangle hold on the people of the U.S. Jonathan believed that if they could prove Righteous framed Kilroy his reputation would suffer a major blow. The question they wanted the public to think about is if Righteous has lied about this, what else has he lied about?  
  
"There has to be something we can find that will prove your innocence, Kilroy," mused Jonathan as he paced nervously around in circles.  
  
At this Robert stopped playing with the guitar tuner and spoke up. "If we could find that video I'm sure it would show what really happened," he said longingly.  
  
Jonathan stopped short. "Video? There was a video made of your final concert?"  
  
"Sure. It was the last show of the tour and I knew Righteous was planning on raiding the show." He continued, irony tingeing his voice. "I totally underestimated Righteous' power back then. I knew the law passed and Righteous was coming, but somehow it didn't seem real. I thought after all was said and done it would make for a great concert video."  
  
Jonathan questioned Robert further. "You told me that Righteous hid the murder from the audience by obscuring the view from the floor behind a wall of protesters. Would your video show it?"  
  
Robert nodded in affirmation. "It should, we had one of the cameras mounted in the rigging we used for the lights."  
  
Jonathan grabbed onto this idea excitedly. He turned to Vinny. "This might be just what we've been hoping for. Vin, you know anyone who might have a copy of it?" Vinny responded thoughtfully. "It's been a long time. I'll have to make some calls and see who's still around."  
  
Robert looked at Vinny curiously. "Why would you be able to find a copy of it? Wouldn't Righteous have destroyed the masters?" he asked.  
  
Jonathan smiled and explained for him. "Vinny was the man to go to if you wanted bootlegs or really great concert seats. The likelihood is that someone was making a bootleg off your video array. and if they were, Vinny would've been the guy they'd have sold it to." Vinny just smiled sheepishly, knowing how musicians hated  
  
bootleggers. In this case, a bootleg might just be their only hope.  
  
In the corner of the bar the TV was on in the background. When a newscaster  
  
announced a repeat telecast of the press conference Righteous had held a few days before, Jonathan stopped everyone and they gathered around to watch it. He had missed it himself, being busy delivering Kilroy to his hiding place, and he wanted to hear what lies Righteous was dishing out this time. The TV screen showed Dr. Righteous, tall and imposing, with a somber look on his handsome face.  
  
He spoke with a deep, soothing voice. "Friends, I come before you today to update you about the escape of Robert Kilroy. As you will remember, he was convicted five years ago of murder. This man, who murdered one of my crusaders for musical morality, is at large within the city. He is a very dangerous criminal and if spotted should not be approached."  
  
"How do you like that? Robert, you're a dangerous criminal!" Vinny exclaimed.  
  
Harry chimed in with humor. "He doesn't look so dangerous to me."  
  
Righteous' rant continued on amidst the banter. "I can assure you that every effort is being made to find this felon. I have assigned the task to my most trusted member of the MMM, my right hand man, Lt. Vanish."  
  
Robert watched in stoic silence, ignoring the jokes everyone was making, until Righteous introduced Vanish. From the moment Vanish first appeared on the screen he moved forward in his chair, sitting on the very edge as if to get as close to the screen as he could.  
  
Lt. Vanish spoke then in a soft voice, a voice Robert had heard many times before. "It is a great honor that Dr. Righteous has bestowed upon me, and I will do my best to rid the city of Chicago of such a menace."  
  
The media asked a few questions of the pair, none of them controversial or much of a surprise. This news conference, like all others Righteous was a part of, was a farce as he had most members of the media in his pocket. They would need something major to shake loose Righteous' hold on them, and Jonathan was hoping to give them just that. If they could find this video it would be a major coup for them, and give them some much needed ammunition in their battle.  
  
When it was over the group dispersed, wandering off to various tasks around the city. After seeing everyone out Jonathan went back to where Robert was still sitting. He had a stricken look on his face, and yet there was a ray of hope there as well. Jonathan sat next to him. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
Robert looked up at him, startled, as if he'd just been awoken from a daydream. When he spoke it was barely above a whisper. "I know Vanish."  
  
"From when you were in jail?" Jon asked carefully. Kilroy had so far chosen not to speak of his time as a prisoner of Righteous', and Jonathan was loathe to bring up any bad memories for him.  
  
Robert shook his head. "No.. he was my tour manager."  
  
"Your tour manager?" Of all the things Jonathan expected Kilroy to say, this was not one of them. "Your tour manager works for Righteous?"  
  
"I'm positive it's him." Robert spoke haltingly, forming his thoughts even as he explained them to Jonathan. "He looks the same except. I don't quite know how to put it. the light seems to have gone out of his eyes. But I'd recognize his voice anywhere. I'm sure it was him."  
  
Jon shook his head in wonder. "Why would he be working for Righteous?"  
  
"I don't know but I'm going to find out," Robert said, his voice hard. Jonathan's eyes narrowed. He had a bad feeling about this. and he asked his  
  
question with dread. "What are you thinking of doing, Kilroy?"  
  
"I need to speak with him. He didn't look right to me. I've seen that look before - I think Righteous has brainwashed him. I have to try and talk to him, maybe I can get through to him," Robert explained, hopeful that Jonathan would understand.  
  
He was sorely disappointed. Jonathan's eyes widened in disbelief and he exploded. "Are you insane? You're going to contact Righteous' second in command? Why not paint a big red bull's-eye on yourself and walk down to the nearest police station?"  
  
Robert merely shook his head at Jonathan's arguments. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."  
  
"How can it be fine? You're a wanted man. and he's trying to catch you and throw you into jail. Don't you see the problem here?"  
  
"He'll talk to me," Robert said with certainty.  
  
Jonathan saw that he was determined to continue with this course of action, so he tried a different approach. He shook his head, arms crossed. "It's too dangerous. You can't do it."  
  
Robert cocked one eyebrow at him, and his voice was cold when he responded. "I can't do it? Why, Jonathan, that sounds suspiciously like you're ordering me not to. But I don't take orders from you. What I do is none of your business."  
  
Jonathan matched his icy tone. "It's my business when what you do puts everyone at risk by your foolish behavior!"  
  
Robert spoke with an air of finality. "I'm putting no one in danger but myself by meeting with him. The matter is not up for discussion. This is something I have to do." "You're a idiot!" Jonathan spat at him, gesturing angrily. "He'll throw you back in jail so fast your head will spin."  
  
"If that's what happens, then so be it. My friend needs me and I have to try and help him. End of discussion." Robert stood as he spoke and left the room abruptly, leaving Jonathan to curse his stubbornness into an empty room. 


	3. I used to ty and walk the straight and n...

I used to try and walk the straight and narrow line; I used to think that everything was fine.  
  
The huge bonfire began to burn more brightly, lighting up the night sky with its hungry flames. Hundreds of yelling and screaming teenagers fed the fire with record albums, tour booklets, sheet music, anything that would burn. A holographic image of Righteous hovered in the air above the flames, playing a pre-recorded message to his followers.  
  
"Friends, thank you for joining me in our crusade to rid America of the evils of rock music. Every record, every piece of sheet music you burn brings us one step closer to a perfect America. I am proud that you have taken charge of this country, saving our youth from the corrupt messages that rock music delivers."  
  
"If you see any other things that propagate the kind of ideas we fight here - if you see them in books or magazines - it is your responsibility as a good citizen to burn these too! We must fight the forces that strive to tear us apart, that endeavor to take our children away from us and turn their thoughts to immoral deeds. Only together can we make a difference."  
  
Vanish oversaw the entire operation. He was everywhere, encouraging people and making sure the fire burned bright and steady but did not get out of control. When someone ran out of things to throw on the bonfire, he and his Robotos handed confiscated music to them so they could continue to participate.  
  
At the fringes of the crowd moved some who were not participating in the burning. They were carefully distributing flyers to the people there. Just in case someone overly zealous was in attendance, they made sure that by the time a person read the flyer that they had melted into the mob of people. Most glanced at them and simply added them to the bonfire. Here and there one or two youths who had been coerced into attending by a parent pocketed the flyer to look at later.  
  
Kilroy moved cautiously at the perimeter of the field, wearing his stolen Roboto outfit once again as camouflage. It was simple for him to tune out the drivel that Righteous was spewing out - it was very similar to what he was subjected to in jail. It was strange, but the atmosphere of the rally was very similar to that of a rock concert. It served a similar function of bringing people together, uniting them in one purpose. He supposed that people needed an outlet, and if you were going to take one away you had better provide another.  
  
Rob had planned what he wanted his message to say in meticulous detail. He had to make the message easy enough for Vanish to read, yet not lead any other prying eyes to be able to find him. He used a different kind of encoding than usual, for as far as he knew the MMM had still not figured out the key for the code normally used. In the message, Robert gave Vanish a place and a time to meet. This was exactly what Jonathan had objected to, but it was imperative that he talk to Vanish in person. Using his laser, he etched his message into a sign and left before the assembly ended.  
  
After the rally dispersed, the Robotos started the clean up process. Piles of ash that had once been works of art were being shoveled into trashcans. A Roboto cleaning the border of the field found some graffiti, written in what appeared to be rock code. They hadn't found any of that since Kilroy's escape. Vanish was called over to look at it before it was erased by the clean up crew.  
  
Vanish studied it carefully. It looked similar to rock code, the graffiti Chance and Kilroy had used to communicate to each other when Kilroy was on the run. Vanish could not immediately understand what it said, but for some reason reading it gave him a very strange feeling, as if there was a mystery about to be revealed. The whole thing was curious, and very disturbing. Vanish instructed a Roboto to snap a picture of this and upload it to the central computer system, then cleanse the wall of the graffiti. He would study it later.  
  
****************  
  
Righteous watched as the two men filed into his office. Lt. Vanish and Col. Hyde came in every morning to go over the day's events with him. Righteous thought about the two men seated before him.  
  
Col. Hyde had been with him from the beginning, when all Righteous had was a TV show on a small cable station and a vision. Now, years later when he owned numerous media holdings and had a powerful influence over American politics, his friend was still right there by his side. He had always shared Righteous' vision of a country without the influence of mass media to cloud people's judgment. Without music, television, magazines and movies constantly barraging you with their messages of sex and violence people would be free to decide for themselves what was best. Righteous was positive that people, if given a choice, would choose to read, see and listen to the types of entertainment he provided. If he made sure that his point of view was heard loudest by controlling most forms of mass media, then so much the better. Less clutter for the public to wade through.  
  
As Righteous won congressional approval and started to jail rock and roll misfits five years ago, he found it necessary to retrain some of them. Their rebellious attitudes and stubborn wills made some of them very difficult cases indeed. They did not always take to it easily, and finding someone who could reprogram them effectively without destroying them was difficult. Perhaps his most useful talent, Hyde was the best reconditioner Righteous had ever seen. He was almost always successful with his cases, and subtle in his work.  
  
Vanish, on the other hand. Righteous knew that Hyde did not trust him. He saw Vanish as a dangerous unknown quantity, even five years later. Righteous had never had a moment where he questioned Vanish's loyalty, even if it were - what was a nice way to phrase this. artificially created. His conditioning was thorough and deep. Having a man as his second in command that had no aspirations of advancement, who never questioned his orders, was useful at times. And the fact that he was once close to Kilroy, that an old friend of his would be his eventual downfall, tickled Righteous' funny bone.  
  
Righteous snapped himself out of his reverie and started the meeting. "Col. Hyde, your update."  
  
Hyde answered crisply. "Well sir, I just received an excellent lead from a prisoner we captured en route to a rendezvous with another person in the rebel group. As you know our operatives have so far been unsuccessful in infiltrating the higher levels of their organization. With the information I have obtained from this individual, we should be able to rectify that."  
  
"Excellent," Righteous said warmly. "Steady progress, that's what I like to see. Lt. Vanish? Any leads on where Kilroy is?"  
  
At the very last moment, Vanish decided not to tell Righteous about the message he'd found, and that it might give them information about Kilroy. Something in the back of his mind made him think twice about it, and he decided he'd like more time to think about it before he brought it up. Vanish cleared his throat nervously. He'd never intentionally lied to Righteous before. "No leads."  
  
"Nothing?" Righteous asked, a troubled look on his face. Kilroy's escape and continued elusiveness was turning into a problem.  
  
Vanish continued on apologetically. "Wherever he is, he's hidden himself well. I have every available person working on finding him. I'm sure something will come up very soon."  
  
"Yes. I'm sure it will," Righteous said in response and turned his attention to his daily schedule. "What's this about Congressman Wylie needing to see me?"  
  
"Oh, that." Vanish was almost embarrassed to discuss the matter. "The congressman is a bit worried about the negative press lately - you know, the whole censorship issue. I had a chat with him myself but nothing short of an appointment with you would make him feel better. It's an election year in his district." Vanish ended, trying to explain the man's behavior and his own failure to diffuse the situation before it had to come to Righteous' attention.  
  
Righteous practically growled his response, bitterness lacing his speech. "Yes, the bad press. It was much easier before the eyes of the entire world were upon you. Damn foreign journalists - it's none of their business how I choose to run this country."  
  
Vanish noted that he specifically said how 'I' choose to run the country, and he was suddenly very glad he hadn't mentioned Kilroy. The seeds of doubt that lay dormant within him unexpectedly sprouted, leaving him feeling very uncomfortable in  
  
Righteous' presence. He did not have to suffer for long though. Righteous ended the meeting as abruptly as he had started it, annoyed that he had to deal with this congressman.  
  
Back in his office, Vanish stared at the image on his computer screen. The graffiti found at the last demonstration was illuminated before him, but no matter how brightly lit it was still shrouded in mystery. The encryption used to encode this message was different than what he had seen before, much simpler, as if he were meant to read it without much difficulty.  
  
He studied the message thoughtfully. It looked to him as if it were chess notation, like he'd seen in the books he'd read on the subject. But there was something wrong with it. K-C9. King to the square C9. but that couldn't be right. Chessboards were 8 by 8 grids, so it would be impossible to have a move to column C, row 9. He took a piece of paper out and wrote down all of the letters that were not valid chess notations and came up with a readable message.  
  
"Canal Port Ave. and S. Des Plaines, NW corner, Tues 9pm Kilroy". It seemed to be inviting him to meet with Kilroy. but that couldn't be. Kilroy would never voluntarily meet with him. He would have to know if he showed his face anywhere, he would immediately be captured and returned to jail. But there seemed to be no other way to read this - Kilroy was asking to meet with him. He must be insane, Vanish thought as he deleted the file. To ask for such a meeting was self- destructive, but if he wanted to be that stupid Vanish would have no problem taking advantage of the situation.  
  
Vanish picked up the phone to arrange for a task force to accompany him to the meeting, and he did not realize that he still held the phone in his hand until the shrill sound of a phone left off the hook too long aroused him from his contemplation. He hung it up and walked to the window, looking out at the busy midday Chicago streets.  
  
Why wasn't he calling Righteous right now, telling him about how he had been contacted by Kilroy? Why was he even contemplating going and meeting with him? Perhaps he was the one who was insane. But for some reason a voice in the back of his head cautioned him to check out what Kilroy had to say. Meet with him, hear him out and then if he decided to he could bring him in. Yes, that was the best course of action. Vanish reseated himself at his desk and focused his attention on the next order of business, and proceeded to spend the next hour trying to convince himself that he was not losing his mind.  
  
****************  
  
"Congressman Wylie, how good to see you." Righteous ushered his visitor into his office and offered him a seat in an overstuffed leather chair.  
  
The man somehow managed to look uncomfortable seated there. He spoke quickly. "Righteous, I'll get right to the point. My constituents are voicing concerns about your restrictive policies. I mean, taking books out of the school libraries? It smells too much of censorship and people don't like it."  
  
Righteous sat behind his large maple desk at ease, leaning back in his chair. His elbows were on the arms of the chair and his fingers were steepled. Righteous liked to pose like this - he felt he looked fatherly and knowledgeable that way. "Congressman, we need to stay the course. Letting a few dissenters change our plans is counterproductive. It also looks weak and indecisive when you change your mind."  
  
Wylie shook his head in disagreement. "Righteous, your ideas are just too radical. People won't stand for them. And I'll never get reelected on this kind of platform."  
  
Righteous let his facade of calmness crack for a moment and let his anger show through. "You're so concerned with your own future! Peoples' souls hang in the balance and all you can think about is what you'll be doing for the next two years!" He took a deep breath and continued more calmly. "Congressman, let me worry about the election. Just keep enforcing my position and all will turn out well."  
  
After a few more encouraging words from Righteous the congressman, somewhat  
  
mollified, got up to leave. Righteous accompanied him to the door. On his way out he turned to ask one final question. "Righteous. have you captured Kilroy and that Chance fellow yet?"  
  
The question caught him by surprise. He hadn't thought anyone outside of his organization had much cared about those two - Righteous was using them as examples, nothing more.  
  
He answered as casually as he could. "Not yet, but they're as good as apprehended. Why do you ask?"  
  
The congressman answered with a tone of sadistic pleasure, as if he were perversely pleased to hear this news. "Oh, no particular reason. Just idle curiosity. Good day, Dr. Righteous."  
  
He had heard that people were muttering about him, his enemies proclaiming that he was getting soft, that he had let a musician evade him. Never before had someone asked him directly about it. This was a much more serious issue than he had first thought. He made a mental note to impart the urgency of finding Kilroy and Chance to Vanish as soon as possible. 


	4. I think of childhood friends and the dre...

I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had.  
  
Vanish entered the empty building cautiously. He was still wondering why he had agreed to do this. It was insane, it was dangerous, it was lethal for his career. and yet he had to. The dreams had been getting worse lately, and to say they were disturbing him would be an understatement. He felt as if his whole life was a charade. Lately it seemed as if his dreams were more real than his waking life, for he could not put it out of his mind during the day. In his dreams, he was seeing the tiniest glimpses of another world, a world that spoke to him on a very basic level. As if he belonged there instead. He wanted to understand it all, to put his fears and doubts to rest one way or another, and for some reason he didn't yet understand, Kilroy could help him. The encoded message Kilroy had left for him at the latest rally was the last straw. Kilroy knew something and Vanish intended to find out what that was. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he jumped when he heard Kilroy speak.  
  
A voice called out softly from the darkness. "Alec?"  
  
Vanish spun to see Kilroy materialize from the concealing shadows. He spoke in a voice mixed with surprise and relief. "Kilroy. You actually showed up."  
  
Robert looked at him with curiosity, his eyes searching the face he remembered so well for some sign of recognition on the other's part. "Of course I did, Alec. I'm the one who asked you here."  
  
Vanish frowned at him. "Why do you keep calling me Alec?"  
  
"Because that's your name," Robert responded, his voice intentionally mild.  
  
His companion spoke with a conviction he did not feel. "My name is Vanish."  
  
Robert challenged him on this. "Well then, Vanish .what's your first name?"  
  
Vanish ignored his question and responded with a question of his own. "You left me all those clues, knowing I'd find you here. Why?"  
  
"I wanted to talk to you."  
  
Vanish's voice was cold and contemptuous. "What do we have to talk about?"  
  
"The past. I think - " here Robert paused unsure of how to say this, "I don't think you're Lt. Vanish. I think you're Alec Cameron. My tour manager. back when there was a tour."  
  
"That's ridiculous!" Vanish responded with disdain. "I'd never be your tour  
  
manager, I work for Dr. Righteous."  
  
"And before that?" Robert prodded for an answer.  
  
Vanish looked uncomfortable now. "Before what?" he hedged. Confusion ran through him. He had asked himself this question at times. What DID he do before he worked for Righteous? He never could remember. That was one of the most troubling things - the fact that he couldn't seem to remember anything prior to about five years ago. when Kilroy was first arrested. Something about that idea clicked with him, and he filed it away with all the other mysteries to be sorted out later. Can't seem to remember anything prior to about five years ago. when Kilroy was first arrested..  
  
"Before you worked for Righteous." Robert repeated patiently. He knew he had to tread lightly, for this was a difficult thing he was asking Alec to do. He needed Alec to reach for some distant, misty thoughts and believe that they are real. so Robert tried to jog his memory. "What did you do before you worked for Righteous? Where did you grow up? Did you go to college? Who was your date for the senior prom?"  
  
"Enough!" Vanish said angrily. He pulled his gun out its holster in the small of his back and pointed it at Robert. "I've played this game with you for long enough. You're under arrest."  
  
Robert stood still, staring at Vanish. Had he pushed too far, too hard? His only choice was to see his plan through. For his part, Vanish could not understand the compassion he saw in the others eyes. He was more confused than ever. "Did you hear me? Hands up!"  
  
Robert merely shook his head. "I don't think you'll arrest me."  
  
"Oh you don't?" Vanish asked threateningly. "It's my job to find you, Kilroy, and you've made it much easier by inviting me to this little soiree. Do you have any idea how good I'm going to look when I hand you over to Righteous?"  
  
"Why did you come alone then?" Robert asked softly. "If you wanted to arrest me you should've brought some backup."  
  
The question threw him. "What? I don't know why... I just did. What does it  
  
matter?"  
  
Robert answered him carefully. "I think you came alone so that you could ask me questions. Questions about yourself that have been bothering you. Questions about your past."  
  
Vanish, who still had the gun trained on Kilroy, lowered it slowly, looking at Kilroy with distrust and astonishment. "How did you know that?"  
  
When Robert answered it was with sympathy. "Because Alec, I've been there. I've sat through those indoctrination sessions. I know he can't have totally destroyed your memories. Think back. don't you remember anything about me?" Vanish reached back with one hand and found a large crate to sit down on. "Well of course I do. I've studied your file for hours.. "  
  
Robert shook his head in disagreement. "No, not that stuff. Don't you remember being out on the road together? We must've played a hundred chess games over the years, just to pass the time on those long bus rides."  
  
Vanish answered, sounding distracted. "No. I don't remember any of that." By the look on his face and the tone of his voice Robert could tell he wished he did remember it. Instead of pressing him, Robert asked him a different question. "Do you ever have dreams you can't explain?"  
  
Vanish looked up at him with renewed astonishment. His voice was rough with  
  
suppressed emotion. "How do you know what's happening to me?"  
  
Robert moved for the first time since he entered the room and came to sit next to him on the box. "I know what it's like, Alec. because it happened to me too.  
  
Righteous tried to brainwash me by using his mind control tricks. He wanted to make me his poster boy, the reformed rock and roller admitting his sins. There were some days I couldn't remember my own name. It didn't work in the end because to make me reject such an integral part of myself he'd have to alter who I was at a very basic level. But he couldn't afford to have me forget everything. I couldn't confess my wrongdoing if I couldn't remember what it was. I suppose it didn't matter to him if you remembered your past. he had other plans for you."  
  
"I have been having dreams," Vanish admitted. He faltered, unsure as to whether he should continue. After a moment he plunged ahead, as if he were to hesitate he'd never gather the courage again. "There was one where it seemed like I was at a birthday party. there was a young lady there, and an older woman." He did not add, 'and you were there as well'. He was not ready to admit that his dreams sometimes included Kilroy. Not yet.  
  
"How old were you?" Robert asked.  
  
"Around 30 or so." Vanish responded, remembering. "It didn't seem as if it was a long time ago."  
  
"The young lady, was she in her early twenties?" When Vanish nodded yes Robert went on. "Straight dark hair, shoulder length? Big brown eyes, very pretty?" Vanish nodded again in mute agreement. "Your sister Catherine," Robert confirmed.  
  
Vanish's eyes lit up with amazement. "My sister? I have a sister?"  
  
"Sure," Robert said encouragingly. "It's just her and your mom left now."  
  
"My mom," Vanish whispered. Somehow he knew that Kilroy was right, he was telling him things he'd known to be true on some level deep within him. He looked up at Kilroy. "How long have we known each other?"  
  
"Since we were 12." A corner of Robert's mouth turned up as he though of it. "We grew up in the same neighborhood."  
  
Vanish was trying to reason it all out. "And you say I was your tour manager."  
  
"Yes. You always were good with details, and I needed someone I could trust."  
  
Something indefinable within him clicked when Kilroy said this. He felt as if he could trust Kilroy, he somehow knew Kilroy only wanted to help him. It was all too much for him to handle at once. He had to go home and think about it. When he rose to leave, Robert stood with him. Vanish got all the way to the door when he turned around. He looked at Kilroy standing there, defenseless. He could arrest him right now, take him back and be a hero. But something within him said no. There were mysteries to be uncovered and Kilroy was more valuable to him free than in jail. He called back to where Robert was still standing. "Kilroy?"  
  
"Yes?" he replied with a calm he did not feel.  
  
A long pause. "Can we talk again?"  
  
Robert smiled for the first time that evening. "Sure. Shall we come back here this time next week?"  
  
Vanish nodded. "Next week. And Kilroy" - here the ghost of a smile touched his face - "thanks."  
  
"Anything for an old friend," Robert said with affection.  
  
************************  
  
"So," Jon said, to create a topic of discussion, "tell me more about this girl Hope."  
  
Vinny and he had been sitting in the bar for hours, ever since Robert had left for his meeting with Vanish. With every passing minute the likelihood that Robert had been caught seemed more and more real, and since poker was not really a two player game, they had little to do but wait. Jon currently was pacing up and down in front of the window and Vinny was lounging, chair tipped back and feet up on the table. With his latest question it seemed Jon had hit upon the one topic his friend seemed interested in talking about.  
  
Vinny spoke animatedly. "Jon, she's great. She's really become a great help. There's just so much going on these days, and with you stuck here I've had to take on most of your normal load. she's taken a lot of the clerical type work off of my hands." Vinny was so rapped up in what he was talking about that he didn't notice Jon's grimace at the topic of his self- imposed imprisonment.  
  
Jon looked more closely at his friend, and his sour smile turned into an amused look. He spoke with a slightly teasing tone to his voice. "You like her."  
  
Vinny's chair hit the floor with a thud. He immediately sputtered a reply. "No! It's not like that. She's just been very helpful, that's all. Nothing more."  
  
Jon's amusement continued unabated. He spoke with a knowing tone. "Methinks  
  
thou dost protest too much."  
  
Vinny opened his mouth as if to deny the charges, but all at once the steam seemed to run out of his argument. After a moment of staring at the table in front of him, he looked up again, nervous and unsure. "Is this ok? I mean. it certainly isn't the time for something like this."  
  
Jon shrugged. "Love knows no time table. I guess it's ok - you work together, it's only natural. Does she feel the same way about you?"  
  
Vinny shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't had the guts to ask her."  
  
Jonathan responded with a bitter tone. "Well, just be careful. You might think you know someone, but then they'll turn around and stab you in the back." Vinny knew he was referring to his girlfriend Jennifer - no, his ex-girlfriend. Her refusal to support him when he needed her most hurt, he knew. Time to change the subject again.  
  
Vinny looked at his friend once again, unhappy with what he saw. "You know, Jon, you look like hell," Vinny said as Jon continued to pace up and down nervously in front of the window of the bar.  
  
He answered back around the fingernail he was busy biting, not even glancing at Vinny. "Gee thanks."  
  
"Seriously. you look worn out. Have you been sleeping?"  
  
Jonathan looked at him, irked. It did stop him from pacing back and forth, though. "Yes mother, I have. And I've been eating all my vegetables too," he said sarcastically. Vinny frowned at his friend. "Don't be a smartass. I'm not joking around, I'm worried about you."  
  
Jonathan's face softened a bit, and he tried to brush his friend off. "Don't be." "You're no good to anyone if you run yourself into the ground, Jon," Vinny reminded him.  
  
"I'm no good to you now! All I do is sit around here all day waiting for someone to come and ask me a question - I can't stand it! I need to get out there and do something!" He gestured widely with his arm toward the front door.  
  
"The only thing you'd succeed in doing is getting yourself arrested. Jon, be reasonable."  
  
Jon answered petulantly. "I'm tired of being reasonable. Kilroy's out there. I should be too."  
  
"You yelled at him for going." Vinny reminded him.  
  
Jonathan waggled one finger at him in reprimand. "That's because what he's doing isn't safe.  
  
"But you traipsing around Chicago is? Jon," - here Vinny got up and put one hand on his friend's shoulder - "I understand how this must be driving you crazy. But believe me, you're doing more good than you know. Everyone is working hard trying to find the evidence we need to take this bastard down. It's difficult to keep your spirits up when you work in the dark, always afraid of that tap on the shoulder from one of Righteous' goons. They're looking to you for that inspiration to keep going."  
  
It seemed that all the frustration had run out of Jonathan, and he stood there with his hands crunched down into the pockets of his jeans. He sighed deeply. "I feel useless."  
  
"Far from it. You're DeGaulle during World War II, you're Washington during the Revolutionary War. you're Helen of Troy. " At the strange look Vinny got from Jonathan, he grimaced at himself. "So sue me, I ran out of inspirational people!"  
  
Jonathan smiled in spite of himself at his friend. At that moment, the door opened and a very tired looking Robert Kilroy walked in. For some reason both Vinny and Jonathan stayed exactly where there were, watching him closely. They'd spent all night on pins and needles, half expecting legions of Righteous' men to break down their door and arrest them, and now they were startled to see that he came in alone and unharmed. For a long moment, no one in the bar seemed to breathe. Robert walked up to them.  
  
Jonathan's eyes burned with a million questions, but when he spoke it was barely a full sentence. "Was it him?"  
  
Robert nodded. He took a deep breath, then answered. "Yeah, it was."  
  
"A little. We're going to meet again next week to talk some more."  
  
Jonathan nodded.of course. Rob went ahead and agreed to meet with him again, not thinking of the jeopardy he was placing himself in. Briefly Jonathan's annoyance made him want to mention that, but they'd already had that argument so Jonathan went on. "Do you think you can get through to him?"  
  
"With time I think he'll be fine," Robert assured.  
  
Jonathan bit his lip, feeling embarrassed. Kilroy was so sure that what he did was the right thing, so ready to risk it all if only he could help his friend. With shame Jonathan realized he wasn't totally positive if he would do the same thing if he were in his place. In any case, Robert had assured him that he would not be caught, and he was right. "Kilroy. I'm sorry for doubting you."  
  
Robert shrugged his apology off. "No, don't. You were right, it was risky to go there and meet him. It was stupid and dangerous. But you can see how I had to try, can't you?"  
  
Jonathan nodded, thinking of the frustration he felt. To sit there and take no action was exasperating. "I do."  
  
In answer, Robert smiled and grasped Jonathan's shoulder briefly in friendship. He went upstairs, walking wearily.  
  
Both Vinny and Jonathan watched him go, and when he was out of sight Vinny sighed. "Well, thank god that's over. I'm gonna go home." When he reached the door he turned back to see Jonathan still standing where he left him. "Jon, get some sleep." His friend smiled at him and answered affectionately. "I will. Get out of here, will ya?"  
  
The moment the door closed behind Vinny, the smile dropped off Jonathan's face. Contemplating the situation of Kilroy and Vanish, he continued wearing a groove in the oak parquet flooring.  
  
***********************  
  
Vanish willed his heart to stop beating so fast. He strove to look casual as Righteous peeked his head around the corner into his office, asking if he had a moment to talk.  
  
"Sure, just let me save what I was doing." Vanish turned to his computer terminal and exited out of the confidential records he was searching, looking for more information on Kilroy's arrest and his own personnel files. So far the results of his search had been most fascinating. There were a number of files that he was having difficulty accessing, and he suspected that he was not given the security clearance for them. In theory, there should be nothing in this organization that he couldn't know about, and the fact that there were things being hidden from him spoke volumes.  
  
He looked up once he was done at his boss seated across from him. "What can I do for you?"  
  
Righteous did not bother to lean back in the chair and make himself comfortable. "I just wanted to let you know - as of now the capture of Kilroy is your top priority. Put everything else on the back burner."  
  
Vanish strove to keep his voice casual. "Of course.. any reason in particular?"  
  
"Yes," answered Righteous, his voice showing his concern. "When I had my chat with Congressman Wylie the other day he mentioned Kilroy. The fact that he has remained at large for so long has become an embarrassment."  
  
It seemed that events conspired to make him come to a decision. His meeting with Kilroy was in a few days. and one way or another he would have to decide what he was going to do about him. He nodded gravely. "I understand."  
  
Righteous believed Vanish's worried tone of voice was for his predicament with Wylie. He smiled and got up to leave. "I knew you would." 


	5. Leading a Double Life, Friends in the da...

Leading a double life, friends in the daytime strangers at night.  
  
The people were crowded into the small room, their low discussions a constant indistinguishable buzz. As Vinny called for their attention, the group quieted until he could be heard clearly.  
  
"Thank you all for coming. This meeting is intended so that we can go over what needs to be done and so that we can assign you to your - well, to your first real assignment." Scattered nervous giggles could be heard from pockets within the group. Vinny smiled to himself. he always liked to make them feel as comfortable as he could. After all, these people were risking arrest just by coming here, and not many could do so without feeling nervous. He always tried to make newcomers feel at ease so that they could walk out feeling as if they'd made the right choice.  
  
"You were all at the general meetings, and you've all passed the hurdles we set up to weed out those who are not able to or were not really serious about committing themselves to the cause. You've all been checked out to the best of our abilities, and evidently it all came back ok or else you wouldn't be here. There are a number of places in which we need help, some more time consuming than others, some more dangerous than others. We'll go over them one by one and talk about them, then make assignments."  
  
After some general discussion, the assembly splintered off into smaller groups to discuss particulars. Vinny turned to Hope, who was immediately there with the papers he was looking for. He smiled his thanks, once again amazed at how she knew what he needed almost before he did. She had become an invaluable help as things became more and more hectic, her presence soothing in a world rapidly going insane around him.  
  
After the meeting dispersed, Vinny found himself alone with Hope. She was moving around the room, cleaning up the cups and scrap papers left behind when she got a ticklish feeling on the back of her neck. She looked up from the table to find Vinny staring at her.  
  
She cocked one eyebrow at him questioningly. "Is there something wrong, Vinny?" "Oh! No. Nothing at all." She shrugged slightly and continued on with what she was doing.  
  
Vinny swallowed against the lump growing in his throat and spoke quickly. "Hope, I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me."  
  
She stood absolutely still at this, a crumpled up piece of paper in one hand.  
  
Vinny took this as a bad sign so he spoke quickly to cover his embarrassment. "You know, we could discuss next week's new recruit meeting."  
  
Her expression changed to one of slight disappointment. She nodded in affirmation and continued collecting litter. "Oh. Sure, that'd be fine."  
  
"Hope. what's wrong?" He asked, for it was obvious that she was upset.  
  
She toyed with the styrofoam cup she was currently holding, tearing bits of it off slowly. "I. well, I guess I was just expecting." here she trailed off.  
  
"Expecting what?" He asked, a spark of optimism left in his voice. Perhaps this was salvageable after all.  
  
"Well, the way you asked me to dinner, it sounded more like a date than a business discussion."  
  
"You'd like to go out on a date with me?" Vinny asked, a tinge of wonder in his voice.  
  
She answered bashfully. "Yes. I mean, if you'd like to."  
  
Vinny answered quickly, his voice filled with excitement. "Oh yes, I certainly would! Hope, I wasn't sure if you felt that way about me."  
  
She smiled shyly, her face reassured. "I wasn't sure if you felt that way about me." Vinny laughed, both with relief and with the absurdity of two grown people acting like teenagers. "Well. now that we both know how we feel, how's about some dinner?"  
  
"I'd love that." With that they both left the room, the torn up cup left behind on the meeting room table.  
  
*********************  
  
The only sound in the bar was the tiny grunts of effort Robert made while trying to tighten the piano's wires. His shoulders ached from the effort, and he stopped momentarily to rest. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with one arm and inspected his progress. It was a delicate task, for he didn't have the right tools and the piano was very old and fragile, but he was making headway. He needed to tighten each wire slowly to minimize the stress on it, because wires as old as these could easily snap. He looked over at Jonathan, sitting at a table poring over some papers, and walked over to join him.  
  
"You've been staring at that chart for more than an hour. What do you hope to see?" Jon looked up from his organizational diagram at Robert's question. He wasn't in the talking mood and his first reaction was a surly response, but that wasn't fair to Robert. His situation certainly wasn't Robert's fault, and he realized with chagrin he'd been living there for weeks without speaking more than a few words to Robert the entire time.  
  
He took a deep breath and answered Robert, rubbing at a kink in his neck absently. "Well, I was just trying to narrow down who could have known about Eddie's flyer distribution. The fact that Righteous has successfully planted someone here that we can't ferret out is driving me insane."  
  
Robert looked at him quizzically. "He must've been slipping people into your organization from day one."  
  
"Of course," Jonathan agreed, "Just like we try to create contacts within the MMM. But they never got this close to causing real trouble before."  
  
Robert looked down at the chart. Hand drawn, it looked to him like a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, one clump connected to others in a complex design. His respect for what Jonathan had accomplished increased another notch. There were things going on that he had not yet seen, and probably never would. Robert sat himself at the table next to Jonathan. "The organization it must take to run something like this is amazing. I'm curious, what do you do for a living?"  
  
Jonathan smiled without humor, knowing Robert would be disappointed to find out he was not some organizational wizard. "Last job I had was as a bicycle messenger." "Really?" he asked with surprise.  
  
"Yeah. It was great - I worked flexible hours and the job took me all over. I could walk in any office building in the city and no one would give me a second glance. Bike messengers are invisible to most people. It was the perfect cover."  
  
Robert agreed, it sounded like a great job to have while running an illegal  
  
organization that needed to move information around. He concentrated on Jonathan's last statement. "Cover. I take it you didn't do this before?"  
  
Jon shook his head and leaned back in his chair, a wistful look on his face. "No. Before. well, before Righteous I worked at Acorn Studios."  
  
"The recording studio? I mixed all my albums there!"  
  
Jon nodded with a smile. "I know. I also did some session work when people needed a hand."  
  
"You play?"  
  
Jon nodded. "Guitar, mandolin, pretty much anything with strings."  
  
"I had no idea," Robert said with mild astonishment.  
  
Jonathan sighed, his voice bitter. "Yeah well, that seems like a lifetime ago. You know," he continued, remembering, "I would've been at your last concert at the Paradise but I had a gig that night. We had a scout from Dark Knight Recordings in the house.it could've meant a contract."  
  
Robert looked at his companion with sympathy. He remembered what it was like to be starting out, the hard work and scrambling to promote yourself. Getting someone from a recording company to come down and hear you play was a major boost for your career; he understood how Jon felt. To have what you sweated for and dreamed about for so long taken away. he understood now that this was more than just a political fight for Jonathan. This was personal.  
  
Robert spoke, and Jon could hear the compassion in his voice. "Seems like a lot of dreams died that night."  
  
Jon looked at Robert with renewed wonder. For someone who lost so much himself to have sympathy left over for others. there were days, he knew, that he wallowed in his misery and believed no one in the world had it as bad as he did. Then he thought of what Robert had gone through, and remembered that he never had to sit through what Righteous called "rehabilitation". Jon knew that was just a nice word for brainwashing.  
  
To match Robert's optimistic outlook, Jon fought off the black mood that had engulfed him the last few days and joked back. "They're not dead. Merely wounded." Robert felt a true smile break over face, the first in what was way too long. "Where there's life, there's hope. You'll find the leak, I'm sure of it." Robert did not hear Jon's muttered response as he walked away. "Let's pray I can find it before it can do too much more damage."  
  
*********************  
  
Vanish was the first one to arrive this time, and he spent the time waiting for Robert pacing nervously. He could hardly believe what he was about to do. but there was still time to change his mind and leave. No, he told himself stubbornly, you went through all of this last night at 4am. The information he had found just in the last 3 days made his blood boil in anger, but the thought of betraying Righteous was still such a foreign and unpleasant one, his determination wavered. He leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes wearily, feeling the weight of too many sleepless nights catching up to him.  
  
It's just the conditioning, he reasoned. You don't want to work against Righteous because he brainwashed you into feeling loyalty towards him. It's not real. none of this is. He wished for the thousandth time today he could just open his eyes and find this was all some bad dream.  
  
.but instead he opened his eyes to see Robert standing before him. He drew in a sharp breath in surprise. "You startled me, I didn't hear you come in. You're getting good at that."  
  
Robert smiled grimly. "Yeah well, it's a skill I'd rather not have to practice." Vanish was silent, so Robert continued. "How are you doing?"  
  
Robert's concern for his well-being surprised and comforted him. A little of the insecurity he felt about his decision being the right one fled as he looked into Robert's soft hazel eyes. He saw nothing there but care for a friend. "I'm ok. Not getting enough sleep."  
  
Robert nodded as if he understood what Vanish was alluding to. Vanish gathered his courage and spoke slowly. "Robert. I've been thinking a lot about what we talked about. About me maybe not being who I think I am. Thought I was," he corrected himself. He really had to get used to this idea. "What you said really struck a chord with me. You see, for months now I've been having these dreams. and if I really am who you say I am, then these aren't really dreams but flashbacks. Glimpses into the life that Righteous robbed me of five years ago. In any case, I owe it to myself to try and see if you're right."  
  
The relief and happiness on Robert's face was so evident that Vanish found himself smiling as well. "Alec, I'm glad. It's tough, I know, but making this decision, it's a big step in getting your life back."  
  
"It is?" he asked, wanting to believe Robert.  
  
Robert nodded his head. "You can't solve a problem if you don't know there's a problem to be solved." Robert paused a moment, then went on. "Can I ask you, what made you change your mind?"  
  
The man who now was trying to think of himself as Alec Cameron, not Lt. Vanish, sighed. "It was a lot of things. The dreams, the things you said the other day." here he trailed off, knowing that if he spoke the next sentence there was absolutely no turning back.  
  
Robert knew he was holding something back though, because he gently probed further. "Is that all?"  
  
When Alec finally spoke, his voice was quiet, as if he were holding his breath waiting for Robert's reaction. "There were also the files I discovered at work."  
  
Robert fought to keep his excitement in check. This is exactly what he had been praying for, that Alec would have access to information that could help him clear himself. He did not pursue this, though. He didn't want Alec to get the impression that Robert was only interested in using him for his own purposes. It could wait until Alec was ready to tell him - for now it was important that Alec rebuild his trust in his friend. Robert smiled and shrugged. "Well, whatever did it, I really don't care. Job number one is to help you get better."  
  
Alec looked at Robert, frightened but determined. "Ok. How do we do that?"  
  
"Come on, let's sit down. We've got a long night ahead of us." 


	6. Nothing ever goes as planned, it's a hel...

Nothing ever goes as planned, it's a hell of a notion.  
  
It was the end of another long brainstorming session, and it had been as fruitless as all the other recent ones. Once again the five leaders of the resistance found themselves seated around a table discussing their problems, and coming back to the same frail hope they found themselves pinning all their plans on. Jonathan stared thoughtfully at the papers Hope had delivered to Vinny that morning. Anne had been able to provide them with a list of the locations of all the MMM switching stations so that when they got the videotape of the concert they'd be ready to go. but so far there had been no lead on getting a copy of it.  
  
"Vinny. have you found someone who has that video yet?"  
  
Vinny shook his head. "No. None of my usuals had it. or was willing to admit they had it."  
  
"Isn't there anyone else you can check with?"  
  
"I called all my primary sources. I guess there are a few other people I could contact." Disappointment showed clearly on his friend's face, and Vinny felt horrible. Everyone was counting on him and he couldn't seem to deliver. "Jon, I'm sorry."  
  
Jon, lost in thought, turned his attention outward to see the guilt written all over Vinny's face. "Hey, don't feel bad. It's not your fault. It was a long shot anyway." "We can't depend on this video surfacing," Harry pointed out. "We have to work on finding some other proof."  
  
"Agreed. But what?"  
  
Eddie spoke nervously. "Whatever we do, we have to do it fast. They busted up that meeting last week. they're getting way too close for comfort."  
  
A glum silence settled over them. No one, it seemed, had an answer to that.  
  
Jonathan, seeing that there was nothing else of use to be done here, excused himself from the table and wandered downstairs to think. It was the one place no one seemed to come very often, and he was relatively sure he could be alone there.  
  
Righteous. His thoughts kept coming back to Righteous. The mere sound of his name set Jonathan's teeth on edge. That man was the bane of his existence, and Jonathan had absolutely no idea how to fight him anymore. Their search for that video had hit a dead end and Jonathan felt as if his back was to the wall. His eyes came to rest on the punching bag hanging there, and without thought he took a swing at it out of sheer frustration. It felt good, so he threw another punch, and another.  
  
Soon, Jonathan found that he had to wipe the sweat out of his eyes. He did so absentmindedly with his forearm and threw another jab. He grunted with the effort as the punching bag swung back to meet him. He was glad of the exercise, as he was not used to sitting around so much. His job as a bike messenger kept him active, and after so many weeks in hiding he had a lot of stress to release. His normal exercise of jogging was out of the question, so when Vinny brought this for him to use he eagerly accepted. In recent days he had overlooked it, and he had forgotten how good it felt to vent on this particular inanimate object.  
  
He stabbed viciously at the bag, thinking of what his life had become. Righteous you bastard, he thought, you took away my dream of being a professional musician. He pictured the bag being Righteous and gladly smashed his fist into it. But you were just getting started on ruining my life, weren't you? When they passed that cruddy law and all the recording studios closed, you took away my career as a studio technician and session player. Damn you, he thought bitterly, and slammed the bag again. But you weren't happy with that, were you? No. as the crowning touch to your plans you destroyed what I had left, taking away my freedom and Samantha.with this thought Jonathan hit the bag so hard that his whole body jarred with the effort. His heavy ragged breathing was not just from the physical exertion. he was so angry he was shaking. If Righteous had been in the room, Jonathan would have launched himself at his throat and strangled the life out of him with his bare hands.  
  
He stopped finally, disturbed at just how enraged he was. He stood there staring at the punching bag and didn't even hear Robert come down the stairs. His anger must have been plain because Robert had a look of shock on his face as Jonathan brushed past him. He had no patience with Robert today - Jonathan thought if he had to hear his kind words and caring tone of voice one more time he would take a swing at him instead of the bag.  
  
Vinny was just getting ready to leave, going to meet with one last person about that missing video. He was alarmed at the expression on Jonathan's face. He knew that look and he didn't like it. Vinny confronted him as Jonathan was pulling a hooded sweatshirt over his head. "Where do you think you're going?"  
  
Jonathan growled his answer. "I have to get out of here."  
  
Vinny started to protest, "You can't go outs-"  
  
"I don't care anymore!" Jon yelled as he walked towards the door. "Let them come after me! I'd prefer it to skulking around in the shadows."  
  
"Jon, don't do this!" Vinny called after him. "Dammit!" he exclaimed as Jon  
  
ignored him and the door slammed closed behind him.  
  
Robert had come back upstairs, unnoticed. He spoke up from across the room,  
  
trying to sound positive. "Vinny, he just needs to blow off some steam. He'll be fine."  
  
Vinny retrieved his jacket and moved toward the door himself, masking his concern for his friend with anger. "Yeah well, I just hope he doesn't get his fool ass thrown into jail in the process."  
  
With his hood pulled tightly around his face, Jonathan stalked the streets blindly, not caring where his walk led him. After what seemed like hours, he found himself across the street from the MMM headquarters. He leaned against the side of the building and stared across the street, oblivious to the people passing in front of him. His thoughts reached up to the office where Righteous was, no doubt in the midst of planning some more hideous things to do to him. It took all the self-restraint he possessed not to march into the building and demand to see Righteous right then and there. This world filled with clandestine meetings and midnight rendezvous was not his way. He wanted a confrontation, a decisive and final end to all of this. But that was impossible. He had to fight this war the way Righteous wanted because he held all the cards.  
  
After a period of time the hot anger within him cooled to an icy rage. Jonathan turned his back on his adversary, determined. You want to play, we'll play, he thought. But from now on we'll do it my way.  
  
*************************  
  
Righteous stared out of his window, wondering where Chance was now. What was he doing? He was so absorbed in thought that he didn't hear the knock on his door at first. Righteous turned around to see Lt. Vanish standing in the doorway.  
  
"You asked to see me?" Vanish asked.  
  
"Yes. Please, come in and have a seat." Vanish sat in the comfortable chair and strove to appear relaxed. Being called into Righteous' office was never a good sign, and lately he'd felt like he was walking around with a big sign that said "traitor" around his neck. Although he knew he'd been extremely careful in his inquiries, he could not shake the feeling of nervousness. Luckily, Vanish thought Righteous seemed preoccupied and would not notice his assistant's behavior.  
  
"Lieutenant, what's the good word today? Any new leads on finding Kilroy and Chance?"  
  
Vanish swallowed hard. He wondered how much longer he could put off Righteous. A while longer, he decided, and he made himself sound most contrite. "Unfortunately I have no news for you, sir. They seem to be buried deep and no one is talking."  
  
Righteous brought his eyebrows together in concern and irritation. "Nothing yet?  
  
It's been weeks, Vanish. It's not that big a city. Haven't any of the leads Hyde gave you panned out?"  
  
"No sir. They were all dead ends."  
  
"Hmm." Righteous made a non-committal noise. "Well. I'm sure you're trying your best. You wouldn't think a musician and a delivery boy would be so tough to find, mm?" he joked as he escorted Vanish to the door.  
  
"Yes sir. I'll find them for you, don't worry."  
  
Once Vanish rounded the corner and was out of sight, the smile dropped immediately off of Righteous' face. He walked back inside his office, picked up the phone in his office and dialed an internal extension. "Col. Hyde. Please do me a favor. Please keep an eye on Lt. Vanish for me. He seems to be acting strangely."  
  
*********************  
  
Jonathan returned to the bar later than he intended. He braced himself for a full verbal dressing down from Kilroy, but when he walked in the front door no one even noticed he was there. Vinny and Robert sat glued to the television, Robert's work on the piano abandoned with tools scattered on the floor. As he got closer to the television he saw what they were watching - a mediocre quality copy of a Kilroy concert. Vinny turned to see him walking up, a glowing look on his face.  
  
"Jonathan, I found it!" Vinny exclaimed proudly. "We're watching it now to see if it's worth the money I paid."  
  
"Hold it! This is the song," Robert interrupted, pointing to the screen.  
  
Jonathan stood behind his friends' chair, absorbed by the scene unfolding in front of him. He saw the camera pan the crowd, thousands of screaming people waving their arms. The camera swung back to focus on Robert as he started to sing. The three part harmonies sounded tinny coming through the small television speakers, but Jonathan thought it was the sweetest sound he'd heard in a long time. With a jolt he realized just how long it had been since he'd heard rock music, and the resolve within him hardened just a touch more. "C'mon, c'mon.." Robert breathed, praying that somehow the view would switch to the overhead camera in time. The camera angle changed a number of times during the song, and the overhead view was shown, but not at the right time. As the song was finishing and loud air raid type sirens cut thorough the music, his heart sank. He watched MMM protesters swarm up on the stage and start to place themselves in a protective cordon around the edge of the stage and he lost sight of himself. Abruptly the scene changed once again and the stage was seen from the angle of the lighting rigging behind the band. With wide eyes Robert saw clearly what he remembered: an MMM protester ripping his guitar out of his hands and turning to brutally smash the head in of the person next to him. Vinny flinched involuntarily as he saw the blood of the injured protester spray Rob, staining his white guitar deep red. He supposed his own face held the same shocked expression that Robert showed on the video as the murderer pressed the instrument back into his hands and a number of guards dragged him offstage. The camera angle abruptly shifted again to show confused fans milling around, some scuffling with MMM activists. The wall of people on the stage parted to show the bloody MMM worker crumpled in a heap in front of Robert's microphone stand. Mass confusion followed.  
  
Jonathan inhaled sharply, his lungs burning. He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until then. He looked down at Robert, who was already looking up at him with a defiant gleam in his hazel eyes.  
  
"I think that might convince some people." 


	7. This could be the longest night in recor...

This could be the longest night in recorded history.  
  
They strolled along the street together, hand in hand. Vinny had never felt so at peace before, things had never felt so right. He knew it was the woman whose hand he was holding who was responsible for this. In the midst of the chaos that his life was these days, she was the rock of stability and comfort he so desperately needed. He looked at her with a mixture of amazement and thankfulness. He knew dealing with him day in and day out couldn't be easy - even though she was also part of the secret organization there were many things he could not share with her. Jonathan had repeated so many times his fear of someone slipping with some vital bit of information that Vinny told Hope very little. In fact, he hadn't even told her that he worked with Jon in the resistance. That was more because he didn't want her to worry than because of any secrecy issue, as he suspected she would if she knew how deep into this he was. Associating with Jon and Robert Kilroy could be very dangerous these days, but he didn't want her concerned over it. As far as Hope still knew, he was just another anonymous middle management type of person within the organization. He knew it bothered her, for she sometimes asked questions she knew full well he couldn't answer and then got annoyed with his close mouthed stance. But these moments were few and far between, and he was under no illusion that love was a smoothly paved road. He smiled and sighed in contentment, and Hope turned to look at this sound. She smiled at the look on his face. "Happy?"  
  
"Very," he answered back. They walked for another moment in silence.  
  
"Can we have dinner together tomorrow night?" she asked sweetly.  
  
He sighed inwardly. She wasn't going to like this, he knew, but there was nothing he could do. "Sorry, can't."  
  
She frowned, her voice disapproving. "More secret meetings?"  
  
Vinny stopped walking and turned toward her, his hands open in a gesture of  
  
helplessness. "Hope."  
  
"I know, I know," she said, cutting off his denial. "You have work to do, and I understand how important it is. but it takes you away from me so often. And I have no idea where you go and who you're with. if I didn't have a trusting nature, I'd accuse you of seeing someone else."  
  
Somehow Vinny heard in her voice that her supposedly trusting nature was being sorely tested. "You know there's no one else for me. I hate it that you're thinking like this. I don't know how I can prove to you how I feel."  
  
She spoke quickly, a slightly desperate tinge to her voice. "Let me come with you tomorrow."  
  
"What? You know I can't do that."  
  
"Why not? What could you possibly be doing that I can't be there for?" Her argument switched course, moving toward the real heart of the matter. "Vinny, it's just that I worry about you. I don't want anything to happen to you. I guess I'd just feel better if I could be there with you."  
  
He heard the pain in her voice at his apparent distrust. If he indeed were doing some everyday chore for the resistance then she could certainly be there. but Vinny and Jon were off to air that video and there was no way that he could bring her there. He tried to explain it as best he could. Vinny shook his head sadly. "I appreciate your concern Hope, but I'm not even allowed to tell you what I'll be doing, so bringing you along is out of the question for sure."  
  
She would not meet his gaze, so he gently lifted her chin up so that he could see her eyes. The look there of dejection and sadness was enough to break his heart, but on this topic he would not budge. "You're just going to have to trust me on this one Hope." She nodded, but the look on her face barely diminished.  
  
They turned and continued their walk, but the peaceful feeling he had just a few minutes ago was gone. Maybe Jon was wrong about love being strong enough to  
  
withstand the strain of the guerrilla warfare they were engaged in. Vinny desperately hoped it was, but now he had to wonder. Someday, apparently soon, he was going to be faced with a choice that he didn't want to have to make. and he wasn't quite sure what he would decide if pushed into that corner.  
  
**********************  
  
"You ready?" Jonathan asked his friend as they approached the switching station. They had identified one from the list Anne had provided where the signal could be diverted to show what they wished to the entire population of the greater Chicago area. It had been raining off and on all day, and currently had settled into a continuous soaking drizzle. Jonathan wiped the rain soaked hair from his eyes and glanced at Vinny, who stood with him outside one such building.  
  
"Ready as I'm ever going to be," Vinny answered, trying to sound braver than he felt. He went over the plan again in his head: Jonathan was going to go in and play the tape from the beginning of that last song all the way through to when the concert was broken up by the MMM police. Vinny would be outside as a lookout - there had been too many close calls as of late and they didn't want to take any chances. He hunched further into his jacket, prepared for a long wait outside in the cold damp night.  
  
They checked that their walkie-talkies were working well, and Jonathan went inside the building, pulling his bag of tools higher up on his shoulder. He shook the water from his hair as he ducked into the building. His wet sneakers squeaked on the linoleum floors, echoing in the empty hallways as he made his way further inside. He scanned the shadows as best he could for any surprises - although this was just a switching station and there were no personnel stationed here, there could be repair crews at work at any time day or night. It was getting close to 10pm on Thursday night. Since that day and time had the highest concentration of people watching television, they had figured they could reach the most people possible and achieve the biggest effect from their broadcast. He counted off the doorways as the floor plans described and eventually reached the right door. He tried it and it swung open easily. Jonathan let out a sigh - one obstacle out of the way. He was afraid he was going to be forced to pick the lock to get in.  
  
He stepped inside the small room filled to the ceiling with equipment. In the dim light given off by the monitors and lighted control panels, he unpacked the jamming device and videotape. After a moment of squinting at the wiring he figured out which one he was supposed to attach it to and started to hook it up. He was just about finished when his walkie-talkie came to life. Jon froze when he heard what Vinny was saying.  
  
"Jon, we've got company. I'm outta here - plan B in motion."  
  
Jonathan cursed out loud to no one in particular but kept working. Plan B was their backup in case they got caught in the process of airing the video. Vinny right now was drawing attention away from what Jon was doing, buying him time to get the video on the air. Hopefully, he would be able to fool them into thinking he was there alone and avoid getting arrested for trespassing. Jon shook a stray strand of wet hair out of his eyes and tried not to think about what was going on outside right now. He made the final connections to the wiring and the monitor showed static and snow, then the video rolling. He then opened the communication channel so that he could recite the speech that he and Robert had written explaining the video and their purpose in showing it.  
  
Just then, Jon heard the click of hard-heeled shoes coming down the hallway. He abandoned all thoughts of their public address and glanced around the room for a place to hide. It was small, more a large closet than a real room, with all of the walls covered with wiring and electrical panels and no closets or other exits. Jonathan placed himself in the far corner hoping to blend into the shadows. He watched from his hiding place as a single guard entered the room and saw the monitor. The song was still a good two minutes from being over, and Jonathan's heart lurched into his throat as the guard ripped the wiring free and disrupted the transmission.  
  
"NO!" he screamed and, without thinking of the consequences, Jon leaped out to reconnect the equipment. The guard, who had turned to leave, whirled to see him shoving at cords and cables in a desperate attempt to resurrect his broadcast. Somehow he created a new connection and the video jumped back into life, only a few seconds past where it left off. Jonathan put his body protectively in front of it and grasped for ideas. He stared at the guard, who seemed more annoyed than anything else.  
  
"What are you doing in here?" he snapped at Jonathan. He was tired of chasing after people who trespassed on private property. Although why he, an MMM security guard, was called in to handle this sort of thing he had no idea. It certainly wasn't the first time though. He sometimes felt that Righteous lent out their services as a favor to his rich friends who were too cheap to hire their own security staff. That's how he figured the rich stayed rich, because they were tight fisted.  
  
Jonathan realized with a start that the guard had no idea what he was really doing there. He thought he had a chance to reason with the man. If he could keep him talking for another 90 seconds he could get up to the part of the video where the murder occurred, and that would be self explanatory. Jon pointed to the tiny monitor beside him.  
  
"Look, it's Kilroy's final concert."  
  
The guard threw a fleeting glance at the screen to confirm. "I don't care what it is, tampering with city property is illegal. I'm going to have to take you in." He moved towards Jon but he circled around the equipment, still talking. Gotta just keep him talking, he thought, just distract him long enough.  
  
"Don't you understand? That's the concert where Kilroy was supposed to have  
  
killed that MMM protester. If you watch it, you'll see that isn't how it really happened."  
  
The guard stopped then, looking at the screen curiously. Unfortunately, he was standing directly between Jonathan and the one way out of the room, so trying to run for it was currently not an option. Jon watched his face intently to see what kind of reaction the guard had to the news.  
  
The officer watched as Robert sang and the view of the stage changed. After a moment, he shrugged and looked back at Jon. "Why should I care what happened? He was convicted of a crime and he's got to serve his time."  
  
"He didn't commit any crime!" Jonathan said, desperation creeping into his voice. Just keep him occupied a while longer. "You'll see, the video will show it. An MMM guard killed that kid, not Kilroy." Jonathan flinched as the look on the guards' face changed from mildly curious to hostile. Wrong thing to say.  
  
"Are you accusing us of being murderers?" He asked menacingly, coming toward Jonathan again. "You know, it's tough enough to do my job without accusations like that."  
  
He threw himself at Jonathan and knocked him to the ground, attempting to handcuff him. Jon struggled with the larger man, who was not able to get the handcuffs secured with him squirming around. Jon shoved at the guard's shoulder, trying to push him off, but he wasn't budging. He put his elbow down on the floor and pushed, leveraging the entire right side of his body off the ground and taking the guard with him. The MMM guard, thrown off balance, rolled off him and Jon immediately sprang to his feet and backed away toward what he hoped was the door. The guard, now angry at being eluded, lunged at him again. Jon, not knowing what to expect, put his body sideways and perpendicular to the guard so as to present a smaller target and for better balance in case he tried to knock him to the floor again. The guard attempted to land a punch, but Jonathan's instincts served him well. Since the guard pulled his arm around in a roundhouse, he left his entire body exposed. Jon had the opportunity to send a vicious jab to the center of his stomach. As the guard bent inward at the injury his punch came down on Jonathan's ear painfully. The force of the blow sent him a step backward, tripping over a cable snaked across the floor and slamming his back into a wall full of switches and knobs. His eyes closed involuntarily at impact, and he gritted his teeth against the pain of all those pieces of metal and plastic jammed into his back. His eyes flew open in time to see the guard a foot away looking to grab him by his jacket.  
  
The sirens cut through the ringing in Jonathan's head, and both of them froze where they were and stared at the monitor. Jon saw the scene unfolding on the monitor and pointed at it, although there was no need. The guard was already looking at it as well.  
  
"There! See?" Jon insisted as the monitor showed the murder clearly. The guard had a look of puzzlement and disbelief on his face as he watched, and Jon knew that this was his chance to make a break for it. He used that moment of distraction to bolt out of the small room and run breakneck down the hallway.  
  
****************  
  
Back at the bar, Robert sat with Eddie and Harry, watching the television. About fifteen minutes into the show static filled the screen, then they saw the footage of the concert. Robert sat expectantly, waiting to hear the speech that he and Jonathan had worked out to explain their side of the story. Instead, there was silence, and then the scene disappeared into more static.  
  
"Hey, what happened?" Harry exclaimed. Not more than ten seconds later the video popped back on. Harry sighed in relief, but somehow Robert knew that all was not going as planned. Instead of the speech they had written, he heard a strange man's voice. With a sinking feeling Robert knew Jon was in trouble.  
  
They heard the entire conversation Jonathan and the guard had, as well as some mysterious crashing noises. The video ended showing MMM guards escorting concertgoers out of the theater, and then more static. The small group sat in silence, wondering what had happened to Jon and Vinny. After another short time of dead air, a message on the screen asked them to please stand by as the station was experiencing technical difficulties.  
  
Just as MMM guards were storming the stage on the video, the guard Jon had fled from chased after him. In his rush to attempt to apprehend Jonathan he left the videotape running. As Jonathan sped through the building, he prayed that the security guard he had encountered was alone. Reaching the front door, he instinctively headed in the opposite direction from which he came, so as not to lead any of Righteous' men back to Kilroy. He ran blindly, not knowing the area and so not knowing where to head. He made some random turns down streets unfamiliar to him, listening for pursuit. He didn't have very long to wait - he'd only gotten two blocks away from the switching station when he heard sirens. They were not, however, off in the distance and getting closer - they were almost on top of him.  
  
Where the hell did they come from, he wondered as he stopped for a moment at an intersection to try and find somewhere he could go that a car couldn't. He peered down the street into the rain filled darkness and saw an area a few blocks away where the buildings ended and he could see the dark outlines of trees. A park, perfect. He took off again, splashing into puddles he could not avoid in the dark.  
  
As he reached the park, Jon saw the reflection of red police cars' lights on the rain slicked shine of the street. He plunged into the park, swerving to avoid a half-seen bench by the entrance. He left the paved path and tried to find the thickest concentration of bushes and trees to lose himself in, but city parks were not particularly dense with greenery. He heard the police - they sounded as if they had just gotten into the park itself, as he heard shouted orders to spread out and cover all areas. Jon muttered another curse under his breath - how did they find him so quickly? It's as if they were waiting for him, as if they knew about their entire plan. He had no time to ponder what that might mean; he needed to get out of there. It was way too easy for the police to close off the park and scour the place, and if they did that he'd be caught for certain.  
  
Cresting a small ridge Jon saw the last thing he expected - a Righteous anti-rock rally. He knew that Righteous ran numerous assemblies all over the city. It seemed that it wandered the city, appearing in a different public park every night. As with most Righteous rallies, this one featured his infamous record burning bonfire. From the size of it, the gathering was winding down; the pile of ash large and the flames small. Jon headed toward it, hoping to blend into the still sizable crowd and slip out unnoticed. A general alarm had still not been raised and he crossed his fingers that his luck would hold for just a while longer.  
  
As he reached the crowd, he realized immediately something was wrong. The normal pre-recorded message from Righteous was not playing, and no holographic representation of Righteous could be seen hovering over the flames of the fire. Instead there was a dark smudge barely visible through the rain, the holographic display on but showing something blurred. The crowd was obviously agitated, and as he got closer he could make out the words coming over the speaker system. Righteous' voice boomed at him from what seemed all sides, the numerous loud speakers scattered around the park amplifying his anxiety as well as Righteous' voice.  
  
"I repeat, what you have just seen was a foul lie created by the criminals who wish to destroy all that we have worked for," Righteous' voice came to him over the public address system. "The footage you saw was not real, but a creation of a group so desperate to get their message across that they would lie to you." Jon realized with a shock the video footage must have been shown here in the park as well, a side affect they had not intended. Of course Righteous was doing damage control - the thought of how furious Righteous had to be right now and how he must be scrambling to repair the damage almost made him smile in spite of his predicament.  
  
Vinny limped wearily into the room, looking like he'd been dunked in a pool. Dripping from the rain, exhausted from his running and nursing a twisted ankle he'd received en route, he came into the bar. All three men there immediately jumped to their feet and came over to him.  
  
"Where have you been? What happened?" the scattered questions came at him as he stood there.  
  
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Vinny said sarcastically. He did not answer them right away, walking to sit down in the nearest chair to ease the throb in his ankle. "Where's Jon?" asked Robert.  
  
Vinny looked up intently, his face showed immediate concern. "He's not here?"  
  
"No. There was some sort of trouble when he put the video on, a guard came in and interrupted him."  
  
"Yeah, I had to lead three of them on a wild goose chase to get them away from the building." Vinny said thoughtfully. "Damn! I thought all of them followed me."  
  
"Not all," Robert said gravely. "Now he's out there somewhere. Hopefully - " his thought was interrupted with the end of the static on the screen and the vision of a Righteous meeting in some park.  
  
Jon wound his way through the crowd, trying at the same time to blend in, work his way through to the exit and judge the crowds' reaction to what they had seen. It was mixed, as he thought it would be - some were screaming their support of him, some were positive it was a fake, but most seemed confused and unsure what to think. Jon realized a long time ago that he was depending heavily on the media to pick this story up - he was sure once that happened the truth would quickly come out.  
  
"Look! That's us!" someone a few yards away from him exclaimed. Jon looked up and sure enough, it was an overhead shot of the park they were in. Spotlights suddenly started searching the crowd and Righteous' came over the speakers again, so loud here in the heart of the crowd it sounded as if he were screaming right into Jon's ear.  
  
"The rebel leader Jonathan Chance is here in this park! He has come here himself to try and disrupt our lawful assembly, to sow the seeds of his lies." Jon heard the rest of what Righteous was saying but he was no longer paying attention. He broke through the mob of people, knowing that blending in was no longer an option. He pushed his way out, past a man who recognized him and screamed "There he is!" A number of others around him turned, and one person even tried to grab his arm and detain him but Jon was moving fast and jerked it out of his grasp. He finally broke free from the people and ran straight for the nearest exit, a few MMM followers trailing him in pursuit.  
  
Distracted by the people following him, Jon didn't see the cyclist coming up on his left. Brakes screeching, the cyclist slid across the rain-slicked street and fell, taking Jon down with him. Jon jumped up, the scrape on his hand flaring in pain.  
  
"'Sorry, I didn't see you - are you ok?" he asked as he assisted the man to his feet.  
  
"Yeah, thanks," the bicyclist said, brushing himself off.  
  
"Good," Jon said and grabbed his bike. He was on it and yards away before he heard the angry protests demanding he come back with his property blending with his yelling MMM pursuers. Sorry friend, Jon thought, I need this more than you do right now.  
  
Luckily the rain lessened for a moment, leaving Jon free to look around him and try and figure out where he was. He rode deftly, weaving in and out of the late night traffic. All those years of being a bike messenger in this city had left him with two skills that were suddenly very valuable - speed on a bike and knowledge of all the one way streets downtown where it would be difficult for a cop car to follow. For the first time since he fled the switching station he felt he had a real chance to reach safety.  
  
Jon rode in the direction he hoped was south, heading into the heart of the city. He wanted to lose himself in whatever downtown traffic there was at this time of night. He heard the sirens closing in on him as he sped along, dodging between cars and running red lights hoping to put distance between himself and his pursuers. The cold rain, which had started up again and was now settling into a steady downpour, stung his face as he whizzed along. His speed and agility kept him from being caught right away, but the traffic parted readily for the angry sirens and he couldn't seem to lose them.  
  
A thin mist rolled in off Lake Michigan, lowering his visibility further and adding to the feeling of dread building in him. At this rate they would catch up to him. Jonathan felt them as a tangible presence, he could imagine the barrel of the gun pressed into his back. then a barely legible street sign announced his salvation. They had reached an older part of the city where there were a number of narrow one way streets that could be better described as alleys. Jon swerved, cutting across the traffic abruptly to the annoyance of many motorists. Jon took a sharp left into the alley, immediately plunging himself into the darkness. No streetlights were here to illuminate the rain soaked evening, and the lights from the main road could not penetrate this far in on such a night.  
  
He took the road at full speed knowing that the police cars couldn't follow, the alley was too narrow. He sped along with confidence, having ridden here many times, for as a bike messenger he was always looking for shortcuts. Jon hoped fervently that it would take them some time to figure out which way he went and that no one would be waiting for him on the other side. The street ahead, from what he could see of it, looked wide open. He flew down the alleyway, optimistically planning his route back to the bar from where he was, but at the same time paradoxically expecting any moment to see flashing lights blocking his escape. Jon reached the end of the alley and planned on shooting across the street and through another alleyway, when everything went wrong.  
  
When he and the bike finally skidded to a stop, he pushed himself painfully upright to get a good look around. Sewer pipes lay strewn across the street, and orange construction signs announced the street closing. No wonder there was no cross traffic, Jon thought, as he sat on the ground in the rain and took stock of his injuries. Aside from numerous scrapes and cuts and a few sore places where he'd have some lovely bruises, he seemed fine. The only thing that had him worried was when he felt the gash on his forehead, his hand came away wet with blood. As he forced himself to his feet, using a traffic cone as a support, he found two more things wrong - the blurry vision he had attributed to the dismal weather was more probably linked to the dizziness he felt when he tried to stand. And the throb he felt in his right knee where he had landed on it would only get worse. Nothing that won't heal, he thought as he limped over to the bicycle and started to pick it up. Unlike this, he added morosely, and abandoned the effort. It was a total disaster, with a front wheel so badly twisted that it no longer could turn and a chain that was off its tracks and in a tangle.  
  
He abandoned the bicycle there, not caring that it would let the police know where he had gone and what had happened to him. He simply didn't think he could drag it off the street and hide it somewhere the way he felt right now.  
  
Vinny sat and watched in stunned silence the scene unfolding before them. He watched as Jonathan fled the park on bicycle, and his sprits lifted when it seemed that the police had lost him. Later on, they showed how the twisted remains of his getaway vehicle were found, and the flashlights the police panned across the construction site highlighted the blood smeared on the bright orange construction cones.  
  
"God, would you look at that?" Vinny breathed almost to himself. His heart went out to his friend, wandering hurt in the dark rainy night.  
  
"He got up and walked away. he can't be hurt that bad." Eddie added hopefully. No one had the energy to answer him back with optimism they didn't feel.  
  
Jonathan limped across the street and down the next alleyway, hoping to lose the police he heard converging behind him. As he slipped into the alley, he could just see out of the corner of his eye police cars blockading the end of the street he'd just left. He used his hands to guide him down the dark street, leaning on the building for guidance and support. Reaching the corner, he peered around the edge of the building looking for signs of pursuit. Seeing none, he stood there for a moment trying to get his bearings, blinking away the trickle of rain and blood that ran into his eyes. Being in an older section of town, there were a number of brownstones that had stairways going down into the basement. On a night like tonight, unless they were looking carefully for someone hiding in the stairway, no one would notice him. He crossed the street as quickly as his injured knee would allow and went all the way down the stairs. He crouched down on the wet concrete, hoping to make himself as small as possible and blend in.  
  
Jon spent what felt like an hour huddled there in a puddle, his injured knee getting stiffer by the minute and his head throbbing. Eventually he heard people walking by, talking loudly to each other about spreading out and looking for him. He forced himself to stay calm and wait it out, concentrating on the sound of their footsteps slowly diminishing. He waited for another handful of minutes and attempted to stand up. He faltered, his right leg buckling under him, numb from injury and loss of circulation. Jon caught himself on the handrail and stood on his left leg, massaging some life back into his right with his free hand. Bending over made his dizziness even worse, and he had a hard time deciding which hurt more, his knee or his head.  
  
Thankfully, it seemed during his wait that the cut over his eye had stopped bleeding. Eventually he felt as if he could summon the energy to climb back up the stairs, and he did so carefully. Jon took stock of his surroundings. Looking at the street signs he saw that he was miles away from the bar and was in no condition to attempt to walk back there. Down the block from where he stood a delivery truck was idling. At this late hour, Jon figured he should be done with his deliveries for the night, and headed back to the garage. Grabbing at the chance for a free ride somewhere the cops would never guess to look, Jon hurried over to it as well as he could and climbed on the narrow ledge, making sure the driver could not spot him in his side mirror.  
  
Jon held on tightly as the truck picked up speed. He never guessed how precarious such a perch could be. His hands ached where he scraped them on the sidewalk and the cold seeped through him, but he kept his grip firm. With some relief he noted that the truck was headed back to the warehouse as he had hoped, and the streets were deserted at this hour. The last thing Jon needed was some curious motorist calling the police on their cell phone to report a strange man hanging off the back of a delivery truck.  
  
The driver finally stopped before a closed gate, and he left the truck idling as he went out to unlock it. Jon took this opportunity to hop off the back, looking around him. His strength was rapidly fading, and he knew there was no way he could make it home tonight. He'd just have to find someplace dry to stay until morning.  
  
Squinting to see in the darkness, he spied a hole in the fence surrounding the warehouse next door. He squeezed through it so that he could inspect the place more carefully. He waited a moment in the darkness, listening, but all he heard was the steady rain hitting the metal siding of the building. The warehouse didn't look as if it were in use lately, and as far as he could see there were no watchdogs or security guards.  
  
Jon circled the building, and around the side he found a partially broken window. He tugged the sleeve of his jacket down to cover his hand, and using it he swept the broken pieces clear so that he could climb inside safely. With his stiff knee it was difficult, but after a moment he was in. He stood for another moment, letting his eyes adjust to the darker interior. Nothing met his eyes but a few scattered boxes and papers.  
  
He eased himself down to the floor, vaguely wondering if there were any rats in the place. At this point he really could have cared less, however, he was just happy to be dry and not to be moving. Teeth chattering, he hunched down into his soaking wet jacket, attempting to find some warmth there.  
  
At last he allowed the exhaustion and fear he had felt all evening to overtake him. Tears of anger, pain, and frustration mixed with the rainwater dripping from his hair. How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly? He bowed his head and squeezed his eyes tightly closed, as if he could wring the tears out of them that way, and prepared to wait for daylight.  
  
******************  
  
"How did he get into that switching station? I thought you posted guards at every one we have!" Righteous screamed, enraged at the situation. Lt. Vanish and Col. Hyde stood stiffly in front of him as he paced, refusing to flinch as it would be seen as a sign of weakness.  
  
Alec attempted to explain what had happened. "I did sir, and the guards did  
  
interrupt the transmission- "  
  
Righteous stopped in his tracks and whirled to face Vanish. His ice blue eyes held Alec's soft brown ones for a long moment before he spoke. "But they didn't stop it in time."  
  
"No sir," Alec agreed. "They didn't." The guards bungled attempt at arresting Jonathan was no sabotage that he planned but a lucky accident for his friends. Somehow this consoled him, as if his innocence in this one thing would lessen Righteous' suspicion of him. He didn't really believe that, but the thought comforted him all the same.  
  
"Why is it that you have continually failed in the tasks I have given you?"  
  
Righteous asked rhetorically, sadly. "What happened to the efficient man I promoted a few months ago?"  
  
Alec's heart pounded hard in his chest. Was this it? Was this the moment Righteous found him out and threw him into the deepest dungeon he had? Alec tried desperately to keep his voice under control and not let the fear he felt seep into it. "Sir, I can assure you I've tried every avenue available to me to find Kilroy and Chance, and I'll keep trying, but they're just nowhere to be found."  
  
The expression on Righteous' face was unreadable. Alec stole a sidelong glance at Hyde standing next to him, and he had to suppress the urge to slap the satisfied look off his co-worker's face. After a moment Righteous turned away and walked to his desk.  
  
"Never mind. As of now I'm taking this case off your hands. I'll be handling it personally. Vanish, I need you to take care of my day to day activities."  
  
"But sir, you need to be out there in the public's eye to diffuse any damage that video may have caused," Hyde argued. Righteous looked up from the paperwork he had been fiddling with, and the look in his eyes made Alec's blood run cold. The smile that appeared on his smooth, handsome face did nothing to relieve the malicious promises held in his eyes.  
  
"Have no worry. I'll be making my efforts to locate them very public. That little trick they pulled will cost them dearly."  
  
The cold lump that was sitting in the pit of Alec's stomach solidified a touch more at this announcement. He asked his question as casually as he could. "What do you have planned?"  
  
Righteous responded brusquely. "That's none of your concern, I've got it all under control. You just hold down the fort."  
  
***********  
  
"They didn't catch him, you know. If they had, they'd have announced it." Robert said softly. The wan comfort he could offer did nothing to make Vinny feel any better. Eddie and Harry had left hours ago to go home to their families, but Vinny wanted to stay. He sat with his injured foot up on a chair, staring intently at the front door as if with sheer will he could make his friend walk thorough it.  
  
Robert spoke again. "Vinny, it's late. You should try and get some sleep." Vinny shook his head. "You go ahead. I'll be fine."  
  
Robert looked at him with concern. He just didn't know what to say to make him feel better. No argument that he could think of would persuade him that Jon was safe, so he didn't even try to convince Vinny. He merely squeezed the other man's shoulder in friendship, and told him that if he needed anything to just call. Vinny nodded absently.  
  
Jonathan limped tiredly into the bar, opening the door as quietly as he could. It was still early and he didn't want to startle Robert. He saw Vinny sprawled across two chairs, asleep. With his injuries he could not walk up the stairs quietly, actually he didn't feel as if he could climb them at all. He simply stood at the base of the stairs and rested for a moment. As the front door snicked in its lock Vinny awoke with a start. "Jon!" Vinny sprang up, instantly awake. Jon noticed he was favoring one leg as he walked across the room to meet him.  
  
"What happened to your leg?" Jon asked with concern. Vinny shrugged off the  
  
question.  
  
"Forget about my leg," Vinny brushed off his concern. "Are you ok? You're a  
  
mess." His friend's handsome face was covered with cuts and bruises. There was a nasty looking cut on his forehead, and Vinny noticed a huge gash in the right knee of Jon's jeans. The skin that was exposed was encrusted with dried blood and dirt. Despite it all, Jon managed a crooked smile as he sat gingerly on the stairs.  
  
"You've gotta stop complimenting me like that," Jonathan chided. At the concerned look on Vinny's face, he quickly comforted him. "Really, I'll be fine. No major injuries. I just need some sleep and an entire bottle of aspirin."  
  
Robert came down the stairs rubbing sleep out of his eyes, and immediately made a u turn when he saw Jonathan. Neither Jon nor Vinny noticed him.  
  
"How did you make it back here?" Vinny asked.  
  
"I found an old warehouse to hole up in overnight. When the night shift from the surrounding factories let out, I blended in with them and headed back here."  
  
"You blended looking like that?" Vinny exclaimed in disbelief.  
  
"You'd be surprised what people will ignore." As he was saying this, Robert  
  
returned with the first aid kit and cracked it open. To his surprise, Jon made no move to wave him off as he normally would have done. Jon muttered a distracted thanks, and submitted to his ministrations without further comment.  
  
"Vinny," Jon said as Robert tore open the rip in his jeans so that he could clean the wound on his knee, "someone set us up. Someone told Righteous we'd be there. They were waiting for us." Robert stopped what he was doing and looked up at him. Jonathan's green eyes were riveted, however, on his friend's face.  
  
Vinny nodded in agreement. "I know," he said quietly. "We have to find out who it was."  
  
"Only the five of us knew about it Jon," Vinny said painfully. It was obvious he didn't want to face the fact that one of his close friends could sell them out like that. "Eddie and Harry would never do something like this."  
  
When Jon spoke again, his voice was soft, but firm. "But someone did, Vinny. We need to find out who."  
  
Vinny merely nodded, and Robert realized that they had some sort of procedure in place to deal with this contingency. At this moment, he really didn't want to know what that was, so he focused on ripping open alcohol swabs and cleaning the many small wounds Jon had received. Vinny exited the room, hearing Jon curse as the alcohol stung his cuts. 


	8. My heart is breaking, M body aching and ...

My heart is breaking, my body's aching and I don't know where to go.  
  
As Molly Kilroy rode the private elevator up to Dr. Everett Righteous' offices she breathed deeply to calm herself. He's just doing this to rattle me, she reasoned. He has nothing new to say to me. She exited into the penthouse suite flanked on either side by a Roboto. Righteous called them an honor escort; she considered them prison guards. The long opulent hallway stretched before her and she walked it slowly, refusing to let her mechanical babysitters herd her along at their faster pace. She examined the paintings and the furniture, wondering how much of it was paid for by money seized by Righteous from people such as her. With Righteous confiscating Robert's royalty checks under the RICO Act one normal revenue source was gone. The last few years had been tough, and if Robert hadn't invested wisely she was not sure if she'd have been able to hold onto the house. Righteous is frantic to find Robert, she thought. He's bringing me in for questioning hoping that I will slip up and tell him something. But there was nothing to tell. No matter how she longed to hear from her husband, she understood why he had not tried to contact her after that first message. He wanted her to know he was ok, but attempting further communication was just not worth the risk.  
  
And this was exactly what he feared would happen, she realized. He was afraid Righteous would haul her in for another round of questions. She stopped before the double doors of Righteous' office as the Robotos silently left her side. The door swung open as if by magic, and she stepped inside.  
  
Dr. Righteous was there, ever the gracious and solicitous host. "Mrs. Kilroy, so glad you could join me. Please, have a seat."  
  
A stubborn need to refuse even this simple request flared within her, but she squelched it and sat. No need to start an argument over such simple things, she thought. There was plenty she could find to argue with him over.  
  
"How are things with you?" Dr Righteous asked with concern. "It can't be easy to have a husband who is a wanted man." Molly simply glared at him, not giving him the satisfaction of a reply to a remark clearly meant to anger her.  
  
Righteous chose to ignore her stare and continued, voice smooth as velvet. "He's out there somewhere, alone and unprotected, with all those Robotos and MMM guards searching for him."  
  
"Is there a reason you called me in here?" she interrupted, putting on an mask of bravado she did not feel. "I have dry cleaning to pick up."  
  
Righteous shook his head sadly. "Now, Mrs. Kilroy, I'm just concerned for your husband's welfare. He's in a very dangerous situation. My guards are well trained, but I cannot rule out an excitable recruit accidentally shooting him if he were to try and escape arrest."  
  
"What are you insinuating?"  
  
"Nothing. I'm simply describing the situation to you. I want you to know that I care for your husband's well being almost as much as you do. I want to see him safely delivered back to the prison, Mrs. Kilroy. If you have any information as to where he is you must tell me. It's for his own good."  
  
"I have no idea where he is. I haven't talked to him since before he escaped."  
  
"You wouldn't be lying to me to protect him, would you?"  
  
Molly raised her chin higher and spoke decisively. "I'm not lying to you, I don't know where he is. And if I did I would never tell you. Your artificial concern doesn't fool me. You'd be just as glad to see him dead as you would alive, so long as he was captured and no longer an embarrassment to you."  
  
"That's simply not true-" he started to protest, but she cut him off by standing to leave.  
  
"I'm sorry, I can't help you. Now unless there's anything else you need from me I'll be leaving." She turned and walked out of the room without waiting for a response, half expecting him to follow her and detain her. There was no such move from him however, and she left without further incident.  
  
Righteous shook his head as she retreated from the room. He believed her when she said Kilroy had not contacted her, he didn't expect the man to be that stupid. He knew bringing her in for such questioning was useless, but it had served its purpose. One piece of new information came to him, however - he had no idea of just how much she hated him.  
  
Once safely inside the elevator, Molly released the breath she was holding, allowing herself to relax. Feeling as if she had escaped a nest of serpents, she hoped Robert was well hidden. She got the impression Righteous was beginning to get desperate, and desperate men behaved recklessly. With her husband's life on the line, recklessness was the last thing she desired.  
  
***************  
  
That evening Jonathan was watching the news as he always did, his sore leg propped up on a chair. He flipped between a number of local news stations, trying to monitor everything having to do with the airing of the Kilroy video. Robert was behind him, head inside the guts of the piano as it was most every night. Jonathan no longer registered the sounds Robert made while he worked, the pings and bangs now a background noise he was used to. Jonathan perked up when he saw a news crew  
  
outside the MMM headquarters, but he did not see anything like what he expected.  
  
"Kilroy!" he called sharply, "look at this."  
  
Rob poked his head around the instrument just in time to see his wife on screen, being escorted into the MMM building by MMM guards. Just in case he wasn't positive it was her, the station had helpfully put a caption at the bottom of the screen that said "Molly Kilroy". He emerged to listen to the short news blurb, which wasn't very informative. No mention of why she was called in for questioning was made, and nothing was said about the results of the meeting.  
  
Robert stood in silence, the only visible reaction to this the white knuckled grip he had on the wrench he still held. Jonathan looked up at him sympathetically, wanting to say something but not knowing what.  
  
"I'm sure she's back home right now watching herself on the news," Jonathan  
  
offered, the words sounding hollow even as he spoke them. Robert merely nodded, his jaw clenched. He recognized this for what it was, a cheap ploy to draw Kilroy out of hiding by hinting that his wife was in danger if he didn't surrender. That didn't make it any easier to accept though.  
  
He turned back to the piano to continue his work but after a moment put the wrench down. Feeling so angry and helpless he was shaking, he could only destroy the hard work he'd put into fixing it. His usefulness done for the evening, Robert retreated to the solitude of his room to ponder the unanswerable.  
  
***********  
  
The welcoming smile on Alec's face faded as he saw that his friend was not alone. They were not close enough for him to tell who was with Robert, but the mere presence of another person here made him nervous.  
  
"Robert?" he called out uncertainly.  
  
"Yes Alec, it's me. I brought Jonathan along to meet you." Robert strove to keep his voice friendly and light, but he was still annoyed at Jon for forcing his hand like this. Jon said he understood that Alec was not ready to come out in the open yet, but he had insisted that he come along anyway. Robert thought that Jon didn't understand how fragile Alec was right now, so he agreed reluctantly to his presence there but made Jon promise that he would allow him to do the talking.  
  
"Jonathan," Alec greeted him non-commitally. He shook the proffered hand, and the two men stood in silence as they sized each other up. Alec saw both distrust and curiosity in Jonathan's eyes and he turned away hurriedly. He didn't want the leader of the resistance to see that he was frightened and unsure of what he was doing. He turned to the friendly face that he knew. He took a deep breath before he spoke. "Rob, I'm afraid I have some bad news."  
  
Robert heard the hesitation and concern in his friend's voice, and he strove to keep his steady. "What happened?"  
  
"Righteous has something planned for you, but I couldn't get him to tell me what it was." Alec shook his head in worry. "I have a really bad feeling about this one." "What exactly did he say?" Jon said insistently.  
  
Alec saw Robert throw him an annoyed glance, but said nothing. He screwed up his face and tried to remember the exact words Righteous had used. "It was 'that little trick they pulled will cost them dearly'."  
  
Jon let out a deep sigh and turned to face Robert. "Kilroy, we're running out of time."  
  
"We've discussed this Jon," his friend answered tightly, cautioning him away from the subject.  
  
"Yes, we did, but I think you're wrong." Jonathan turned from Robert, obviously deciding to ignore his warning, and directed his attention to Alec. "What your friend is too afraid to ask you for is some help. We're up against the wall here and we've run out of options. We need you to dig into Righteous' files and get us the proof we need to put him away. If you're on our side, prove it. Help us."  
  
"He doesn't have to do anything to prove his loyalty," Robert snapped at Jonathan.  
  
"Alec, you don't have to do this," Robert was now talking to him, but it was obvious that his comments were also directed at Chance. "I told Jonathan how dangerous your situation is, and no one expects you to put yourself at risk. There are other ways to get this done."  
  
After a moment of thought, Alec responded. "Are there really?" Alec asked, his voice soft and introspective. At the look on Robert's face, he shook his head and spoke again, his voice firmer. "No, Jonathan's right. I can't ride the fence any longer. Lt. Vanish would've played both sides of the game, ready to join whoever looked like they were going to come out on top. Alec Cameron doesn't abandon his friends."  
  
The pride and friendship that shone in Robert's face were not enough to make Alec feel any better about what he was about to report. He continued, disappointment lacing his words. "As a matter of fact I took it upon myself to see what I could find out about the circumstances of your arrest in the files. I was hoping to have some good news for you, but I seem to have hit a brick wall. There are files I don't have security access to, and even if I could get at them I doubt my passwords would work on them. I just know what you're looking for is in there, but I can't get at it," he finished miserably.  
  
"You'll get the files, I know it," Robert said with certainty. "I appreciate everything you're doing."  
  
Alec shook his head ruefully. "I haven't done anything yet."  
  
"Alec, it's enough that you're trying." Alec could hear a begrudging respect in Jonathan's voice. "No one can guarantee success. Thank you."  
  
Alec blinked, slightly surprised at the compliment. He didn't quite know what to make of the intense young man before him, but he decided to take his words at face value. "Thank me when I retrieve those files."  
  
At the same time across town, Vinny hung up his cell phone. He could hardly  
  
believe what he had heard, but the evidence was irrefutable. He and Jon had created some false information and leaked a different piece of it to a number of people, anyone who could possibly have known their plans. They felt that whoever their leak was would act on this information and tell their contact in the MMM about it. All they had to do was sit back and wait to see what happened. Depending on which piece of false information was worked on, that would tell them which person disseminated it. Only one piece of misinformation was acted on, only one was passed along. No mistaking it, they'd found their leak.  
  
Jon walked into the room and saw that Vinny was there. He was glad because his presence would most likely save him from more of the preaching he'd received all the way back from the meeting with Alec Cameron. He'd apologized for disregarding Rob's instructions regarding his friend, but in the end he did get Robert to begrudgingly agree that everything worked out all right in the end.  
  
As he got closer he saw the look on Vinny's face. On his part, Vinny did not even look up as he came into the room, he was so lost in his thoughts. He must have heard back about our spy, Jon thought, and sat down next to him, wincing at the pang his knee gave him. Jon waited for Vinny to say something, but his friend was not talking. Jon had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he wasn't going to like this.  
  
"Well?" he finally asked.  
  
Vinny hesitated before answering. "The only false lead that was acted upon was the one we gave to Hope. There were MMM goons all over the store we fingered as sympathetic. The leads we dropped with all the others were left untouched. Nothing."  
  
"So," Jon said heavily. "Hope. I wonder how she found out?" Vinny  
shrugged helplessly. He would not face Jon and so he could not read the look on his friend's face, but he knew how he was feeling. Hope and Vinny had grown close as of late, and to think that she had betrayed him.  
  
When Vinny spoke again, his voice was thick with suppressed emotions. "What are we going to do about her?"  
  
"Nothing." Jon said. At this Vinny finally turned to look at Jon. Shock and anger played across his dark features.  
  
"What do you mean nothing? Jon, you nearly got killed because she tipped off Righteous about that video airing!"  
  
"Vinny, don't be melodramatic, I didn't nearly get killed. And we're not going to do anything about her." At the uncomprehending look on his friend's face, Jon explained. "Vin, she doesn't know we're on to her. Better to have her where we can keep an eye on her than out there somewhere doing god knows what."  
  
Vinny nodded his head, looking down at the phone he still held. He did not want to meet Jonathan's penetrating gaze. There were times it seemed to him his friend could see inside his soul with those green eyes. He didn't want anyone to see what he was feeling right now, not Jon, anyone. "Which means we all have to act like nothing has changed," he said flatly.  
  
"Yes." Jonathan saw the barren look on Vinny's face even though he would not look him in the eye. He knew Vinny was wondering how he could pretend that everything was fine when his heart was breaking. Jon thought back on Samantha, and believed he knew just how Vinny felt. When he spoke, it was with compassion. "I'm sorry I have to ask you to do this Vinny. I know you care for her."  
  
Jon saw the muscles of Vinny's jaw bunch as he clenched down hard. Perhaps he felt that he could physically strangle the feelings he was having, keep them down and bury them deep. When he finally answered, his voice was hard. "Cared Jon, cared. Past tense." He finally looked up then, and his eyes were as hard as his voice had been. His tone of voice worried Jon, but Vinny got up abruptly and left, giving him no chance to respond. Jon's eyes trailed him out of the room, wondering how long it would take for his friend to trust someone else. He somehow suspected it would be quite a while. 


	9. I ain't looking to fight, but I know wit...

I ain't lookin' to fight, but I know with determination.  
  
"I can't believe the media is buying this drivel!" Robert exclaimed in disgust. They had just finished watching yet another newscast that had bought into Righteous' version of the story. Righteous had immediately launched a campaign that convinced the media that the video Jonathan had worked so hard to get on the air was a total fabrication. Righteous brought forward numerous experts to testify that it had been manipulated, and the few people who had questioned his motives in public had been drowned out by pro-Righteous media. Now, a week later, no one was left to argue against him. Robert turned to Jonathan, who was seated next to him. The look on Jonathan's face stopped him from commenting further.  
  
The bruises and cuts Jon had received in his bike wreck were starting to fade, but they still made it difficult for Robert to read his expression. The desperate but determined look in his eyes, however, could not be obscured. He made no response to Robert's comments, which was also not unusual these days. Jon sat day after day in silence next to Robert, monitoring the newscasts and papers for any indication that their broadcast had the desired effect. As the week wore on Jon spoke less and less, retreating into his thoughts. Jon turned to Vinny, who also happened to be there.  
  
"I need to speak with everyone. How quickly do you think Eddie and Harry can get here?"  
  
Vinny glanced at his watch before he answered. "By seven, I'd guess." Jon merely nodded, and exited the room without further comment.  
  
When Harry and Eddie were finally able to get away from their duties, they all sat in the living area around the table, waiting for Jon to come downstairs. No one knew why he wanted to speak with them, and after the last week of failures everyone seemed on edge. They all started when he finally came down, and watched him walk over to the table in silence.  
  
Jon started in without preamble. "I think we all know by now that our attempt to discredit Righteous by showing that concert video was a dismal failure." He spoke quickly to cut off Robert's attempt to refute that statement. "It was a total failure," he repeated to emphasize his point. "You all know we're working on a contact within Righteous' organization to get us concrete proof, proof that he cannot refute, but we don't have it yet. But if we do come up with it and just present it out of the blue to the media, Righteous will merely say it was forged as well. So we need someone that people will trust on our side, someone who will get them to listen to our side of the story."  
  
"What are you thinking of Jon?" Vinny saw the look on his friend's face and knew he had some plan that Vinny would not like. Jon also knew that, because he hesitated before he spoke.  
  
"I want to approach Congressman Wylie and let him know we have the proof to  
  
take Righteous down. He can get us before the media to state our case uninterrupted."  
  
All at once, everyone at the table burst out with something to say. Jon sat there quietly, defiantly, having foreseen their reaction to his plan and knowing how he wanted to deal with it. One voice rose above all the others.  
  
"That's the most insane thing I've ever heard! Wylie's campaign is funded by the MMM. He's one of Righteous' most loyal supporters! How could you think that he would be receptive to this?"  
  
Jon took a deep breath before answering. "Kilroy, I've given this a lot of thought. I've spent the last week studying every public comment he's ever made. He never says it outright but I think he's ready to leap the fence and side against Righteous." With that Jonathan placed a file folder bulging with newspaper and magazine articles on the table for all to see.  
  
"He's been distancing himself from Righteous for months now, not towing the party line on congressional votes, doing everything he can to move away from Righteous without actually doing it. He's the one who's closest to the edge, and I think he can be persuaded to help us."  
  
Jonathan tapped the folder thoughtfully. "I really think Wylie's our best chance, for exactly the reasons you just mentioned, Kilroy. A vote of confidence from someone who is for all appearances firmly entrenched in Righteous' camp would mean that much more to the public. If we can change his mind and have him speak on our behalf, I think we've won half the battle."  
  
"This has to be one of the most absurd plans I've ever heard," Robert countered. Jon did not answer him but instead looked at the others around the table. None of them looked immensely happy with his idea, but no one else chose to say anything. Jon took this to mean he had their support, no matter how begrudgingly.  
  
"Well, I just wanted you all to know what I was planning, in case something goes wrong," Jon said quietly.  
  
Robert was also looking at the men gathered there. No one said anything to discourage Jon, no one spoke up to say they agreed with him and Jon was pointedly ignoring his objections. He was getting awfully tired of Jonathan disregarding his opinion when it came time to make decisions. He had such misgivings about the safety of this plan that he spoke without thought.  
  
"Jon, how could you put all of us in danger like this?"  
  
"What?" This shocked response came from Vinny, not Jon. Jon seemed speechless. The others were staring at him as if he had sprouted wings, and he immediately realized that it wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever said, but it was truly what he was thinking and they were finally listening to him, so he continued.  
  
"If he gets caught we're all at risk of discovery. To chance it for such a flimsy reason is foolish."  
  
When Jon found his voice, it was tight with suppressed anger. He decided to take the moral high road with Robert and not mention his meetings with Vanish, or Alec, or whatever he was calling himself these days. Since he was the inside informer Jon was alluding to, it didn't seem prudent to mention it right then. Instead he answered Robert simply. "I would never do anything that would put my friends in danger."  
  
Harry spoke hesitantly. "Maybe he's right, Jon. I mean, this is a real long shot." Jon answered Harry, his voice begging him to understand. "It may be, but it's the only chance we've got."  
  
"There must be some other way," Eddie said hopefully.  
  
"I've been going over this for the past week. I can't think of any alternatives. Can you?" At the silence that answered this, Robert saw that his friends were going to allow him to go through with this insane act. He tried once more to persuade them he was speaking the truth, directing his comments to the entire table.  
  
"I can't believe this. If you let him go through with this, you'll be walking right into Righteous' trap. He'll be down on us so fast we won't know what hit us. "  
  
"For that to happen, that would mean that Jon turned us in. And Jon would never do that," Vinny said angrily in Jonathan's defense.  
  
"But Righteous tortures people! Maybe he wouldn't be able to withstand it," Harry said, fear tingeing his voice.  
  
"I have a family, Jon. If something happens to me who would take care of them?" Eddie asked nervously, speaking over Harry in his agitation.  
  
"Enough!" Jon yelled to be heard over everyone else. He held their gazes one by one, pointedly ignoring Robert. "Do you trust me?"  
  
"We do, Jon, it's just-" Eddie started, but Jon cut him off.  
  
"Do you trust me?" Jon emphasized the word 'trust' purposefully.  
  
Eddie met his gaze, and after a moment looked away as if he were ashamed. "Yes," he said softly. "Of course I do."  
  
"Then let me do what I think is best." Slowly he got a nod of agreement from everyone around the table except Robert, who sat in silence throughout the entire exchange.  
  
Jon sighed deeply. "It's settled then. Everyone go on with what you were doing before, I'll let you know how it goes." As the room emptied he wandered off, wanting to be alone. Robert, however, followed Jonathan as he walked toward the basement stairs.  
  
"Jon, I want to talk to you."  
  
Jon glanced at Robert with annoyance and, still walking, spoke to him. "It's settled, we're going with my plan."  
  
Robert was not put off so easily. This time Jonathan would listen to him. He was tired of being bossed around when Jonathan needed him to do something and ignored when his presence wasn't required anymore. He followed alongside Jonathan and stopped him in the doorway. "What, we don't get to discuss this?"  
  
Jonathan spoke thorough clenched teeth, turning to go down the stairs. "No, we don't."  
  
Robert raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I had no idea you were running a dictatorship."  
  
Jonathan stopped at this comment and frowned at him. "It's not a dictatorship and you know it. It's just none of your business." Jonathan turned to walk away but Robert caught him by the shoulder to stop him. Jonathan angrily shrugged Robert's hand off his shoulder, but he stayed where he was.  
  
"Excuse me, but it became my business when you started using me as the symbol of your cause. I've seen the literature. If you're going to go around calling me your 'number one freedom fighter', I want you to listen to what I have to say."  
  
Jonathan attempted to check his anger. He didn't want to have this discussion now, but Robert really knew how to push his buttons. He strove to keep his voice even. "I have my reasons for doing things this way."  
  
"And I have the right to be heard," Robert answered stubbornly.  
  
Jonathan's eyes, normally blue, appeared gray and stormy with anger. If Vinny had been in the room he would have warned Robert to back off. He'd seen Jonathan like that only a few times, and the outcome had never been a happy one. When he spoke his voice was deadly calm. "I listen to what you have to say, Kilroy."  
  
"And you immediately ignore it. Maybe I haven't been fighting Righteous for years but I think I have a little experience that could come in handy."  
  
Jonathan's eyes glittered dangerously. "Experience in undermining a person's authority?"  
  
Robert looked surprised. "I didn't-"  
  
"You sat there and accused me of not acting in the best interest of the group!" Jonathan screamed, all patience gone. He walked toward Robert gesturing widely with his arms, and Robert backed up as he approached. Seeing how angry he was, he was afraid Jonathan would hit him. "How DARE you pull a stunt like that, trying to cause dissension between us? For the last five years I've given up everything I have to make this work, and here you waltz in and decide that because YOU want something done it's ok to use whatever sleazy trick you can to get your way? This is hard enough to do without having to pamper your precious ego! I don't care WHO you are, do that again and I'll deliver you to Righteous myself!"  
  
Robert spoke up indignantly in his own defense. "I never said you would betray your friends."  
  
Jonathan shot back, "What do you call it when you say 'if you listen to Jonathan you'll be walking right into Righteous' trap'? Huh? A gentle suggestion?"  
  
Robert leaped on this, trying to make his point. "But I think you're wrong! Wylie will betray you in a heartbeat. He's in Righteous' pocket. We can find another way."  
  
"That's not even the point. You may be right about Wylie, but it's my decision to make, not yours." Here Jonathan poked one finger at Robert's chest in warning. "Just stay out of my way."  
  
That was it. Jonathan had ordered him around one time too many. He stormed away in anger. "I'm tired of you ordering me around! Find yourself another figurehead!"  
  
"Where you gonna go Kilroy?" Jon yelled after him tauntingly. "Gonna hole up in your buddy's house? Is there room for two spineless Righteous pawns under one roof?" Robert froze midstep, not believing what he had just heard.  
  
He spun around to face Jonathan, fists clenched. "You have no right to say that. You have no idea what he's going through. He's got more courage in his little finger than you have in your entire body," Robert sneered. "You're not brave, you're just arrogant."  
  
Jonathan's voice was hot with anger and frustration. "I may be arrogant, but I'm in charge. Someone has to be the final decision maker, and as long as that someone is me, I refuse to allow you to cause division within the group. The success of what we're trying to accomplish here is bigger than any one of us. I won't allow you or anyone else to ruin what we've built. We need help, and I think Wylie's our best bet."  
  
Robert heard the passion in Jonathan's voice and realized he meant what he said. He was willing to approach one of Righteous supporters in the hopes that he'd be able to obtain help in their fight. Some of the anger drained out of him, and he asked his next question with a less hostile tone. "Why you? Going to talk to Wylie yourself is a suicide mission."  
  
Jonathan answered tiredly. "I have to. I'd never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't do myself."  
  
Robert was once again surprised at his insistence on this. Jonathan had been so careful to stay in hiding all this time, why was he willing to risk discovery now? "Your face is plastered all over the video, Jon. You won't get within a mile of him before you're arrested."  
  
"I have to go. Wylie will listen to what we have to say if I go instead of sending someone to do my talking for me." Some last restraint broke within him, and Jonathan paused. He sensed Robert would understand the fear that was gripping his heart. When he spoke Robert could almost see the raw empty place within Jonathan, and his eyes reflected the desperation and dread that held him. "Kilroy, I'm at the end of my rope. I was really depending on that video to clear you. But the media is saying we doctored it, and we have no solid proof of what Righteous has done. you saw the looks on everyone's faces today. We need a victory. If I don't do something soon, things are going to fall apart."  
  
Robert did indeed know how he felt. When he broke out of jail, he took risks he normally wouldn't have because he had nothing left to lose. From the desolate look on Jonathan's face he realized Jon was quickly approaching that point. And there he was, causing even more trouble by straining even further the stressed ties that bound Jonathan's group together. He felt shame at the way he acted; he should have been able to go about that some other way. "And you're willing to put yourself in jeopardy to achieve that victory?"  
  
"If I have to. And I believe I have to be the one to talk to him. I think he'll realize that I wouldn't come to him personally if it weren't important."  
  
Robert thought about this. Maybe Jonathan was right, they certainly did need help. And perhaps he could persuade Wylie that they were right - Robert had heard him talk, he believed that if motivated, Jon could sell a freezer to an Eskimo. He finally spoke, hesitant. "Listen, Jonathan.. I'm sorry for what I said before.you're not a coward. I was just angry, that's all."  
  
Jonathan shook his head wearily. He was emotionally drained. "No, I should be apologizing to you. I know you're not Righteous' pawn. Your hands are as tied as mine are."  
  
Robert was indeed sorry for the way he'd acted, but his reason for acting like that in the first place was still something they had not addressed. "I still think you don't listen to what I have to say."  
  
Jonathan smiled crookedly. "You don't give up, do you?"  
  
Robert shook his head, an amused gleam in his eye. "Nope."  
  
Jonathan thought for a moment, then nodded his head. "You're right, I do ignore your suggestions sometimes. But you have to learn how to voice your opinion without creating contention within the group. And if in the end I don't take your suggestion, you can't fly off the handle and throw wild accusations around in the hopes of getting people to agree with you. You have to accept that I have the final say on things. Ok?" Robert nodded in agreement. "As long as you'll hear me out, I mean really listen to me when I have a suggestion. then I can accept your veto power."  
  
"Good. Now, I have some planning to do for this meeting with Wylie." Jonathan turned to leave, stopped, then looked back at Robert. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. "I could use someone else's opinion, someone to bounce ideas off of. Got some time to help me?"  
  
He understood that it was difficult for someone like Jon to admit that they needed assistance, and he kept his tone playful to avoid embarrassing him. "I think I can squeeze you into my schedule," Robert joked. From the grateful look in Jonathan's eyes, he knew Jonathan appreciated the effort. They returned together to continue their work.  
  
***********  
  
Vinny sat in the dark, morosely staring at the screen. He was glad that they were watching a video, because that way he wouldn't be forced to engage in a conversation he didn't feel like having. He thought of the woman seated at his side, who was currently leaning on his shoulder comfortably. Emotions swirled inside him, confusion and betrayal mixing together in such a vitriolic mixture it was all he could do to sit still for the movie. How could this be happening to him, after all this time? He'd finally found someone he cared for, someone he thought he could fall in love with and spend the rest of his life with, and it was all a lie. She turned out to be a spy, using him to get as much information as she could to bury himself and his friends in a deep dark jail cell, never to see the light of day.  
  
Upon reflection, one of the things that galled him the most was that she didn't hand him over to Righteous right away. She obviously had decided that he wasn't all that important but that she could use him to get to others, most probably Jonathan. He knew that Righteous must know by now about his friendship with Jon, and the man probably figured that she could find Jon through him.  
  
The effort of keeping up appearances with her was stressful, to say the least. He had no idea how long she would think he was useful to her, and one day soon she would decide that she had used him for all he was worth. Then it would all be over. At any moment, he expected to have MMM police break down the door to his apartment and drag him away. He also found it increasingly difficult to pretend that he was still infatuated with her. Every smile he offered, every kiss he gave her cost him something inside. Bit by bit his soul was dying. He could feel it, shriveled up and dry, a weight he carried with him always.  
  
Hope sighed contentedly and settled against him, nestling closer. Vinny was so lost in thought that he did not notice that she was looking for a response from him, and when she did not get one she turned to look at him strangely. She studied his face in the eerie glow of the video screen. He looked pensive and vaguely ill, as if he had a stomachache. Warning bells rang in her head, and she was instantly positive that he knew about her. What should she do? He was much larger and stronger than she was, if he was angry enough to use physical violence against her, she would not be able to defend herself very well. She sat up abruptly enough to rouse him from his contemplation and turn his gaze outward, to her. He stared at her curiously, waiting for an explanation for her behavior. She smoothed the worry from her face until it was mere concern for her boyfriend and took a deep breath.  
  
"Vin, honey, are you feeling all right? You don't look well." She saw him sigh heavily, a world weary sound.  
  
"Just thinking about some things that need to be done down at h.q. The work there never ends, there's always something to do and someone to reassure. We've been running at breakneck speed for months and getting absolutely nowhere. It's just so frustrating sometimes," he finished in a tired voice, "and to top it all off I haven't had a vacation in years."  
  
She relaxed, painting a tender look on her face for him. She opened her arms inviting him to seek refuge from his cares there, and he moved into her embrace. She could feel the tension in him and she made soothing sounds as she stroked his hair, telling him everything was going to be all right. She was soothing herself at the same time, calming her rattled nerves. He had no idea about her, she thought, the man was so wrapped up in his own world he had no inkling what her real motives were. She smiled in chagrin at her foolishness. Calm down, she told herself, and stop being so paranoid.  
  
***********  
  
Congressman Wylie entered the silent parking garage. He had left the fundraiser early, feigning a headache. How he hated those things - they were always crowded, stuffy and boring. As he neared his limousine, he noted that his driver was nowhere to be found. He was uncommonly early, so he didn't think this was unusual. Using his remote, he unlocked the car doors and stepped inside.  
  
He sat down in the back, sighing as he slipped off his shoes. He realized that he did indeed have a headache from dealing with all those people, with their false smiles and empty praise. He flipped on the television before starting to rummage around in the bar area for some pain relievers. He had just found them when he heard a soft tap on the window. Startled, he looked up. Even with the tinted windows he could see who it was. He sat there in shock, aspirin bottle in hand.  
  
"Congressman?" The question from the person outside made him shake himself into action, and he reached over to lower the window.  
  
"Congressman, do you have a moment to talk?" Unbelievable. He'd seen his face a hundred times before. Righteous made sure that anyone who watched the news could not help but recognize Jonathan Chance. And there he was, leaning into his car. He realized he still sat there with his aspirin bottle without responding, when his curiosity got the better of him. Righteous had always said Chance was dangerous, but he was obviously waiting in the garage for him and had ample opportunity to do something if that was what he had in mind. He had to know what Chance wanted with him.  
  
"Yes, I have a moment."  
  
He saw the leader of the resistance smile in a most friendly way. When he spoke again his tone was casual. Chance gestured with one hand toward the limo. "May I come in?"  
  
Of course. The man was wanted for arrest, he wouldn't want to stand around where he could be seen. As Wylie unlocked the door to admit him he had a vivid image of a front page spread with a huge photo of Chance entering his limo. He realized the potential danger to his career even as he decided to hell with it. Last he checked it was still a free country, he could talk to anyone he wanted.  
  
It seemed that Chance's thoughts were running along the same lines. "Thank you sir," he said, settling in across from him. "I appreciate the risk you're taking me in and talking to me."  
  
"How could I refuse? You have my curiosity peaked."  
  
"I don't want to put you in any more danger than I must, so I'll make this brief. I'm sure you saw the concert footage we aired last week."  
  
"Yes, I did. It was," here he hesitated. Wylie had not known what to make of it. On one hand, he thought it was a desperate act from a desperate man. But to forge something like that would take resources he didn't believe the resistance had. And here was Jonathan Chance sitting before him at ease, leaning back comfortably, looking anything but desperate. Wylie then finished his thought, "interesting."  
  
"Congressman, you have to know that what we say is the complete truth. Robert Kilroy was jailed because he dared to defy Righteous. He spoke out and said that what Righteous is doing is wrong. For that, he spent five years behind bars undeservedly." Wylie shrugged. "And what can I do about that?"  
  
"Congressman, very shortly we will have in our hands concrete proof that Kilroy was framed. We want to present this to the press, to disseminate the truth about what Righteous has done to this country. But we need your help."  
  
"Mine?" he said with surprise. "What do you need me for?"  
  
Chance leaned forward, an earnest look on his face. "After the damage control Righteous did when we showed the video, he convinced everyone that we were liars. If we simply tell our story to the press, I honestly don't think we'll be believed. We need someone they believe in to bring our story forward. I'm asking if you'll do that for us."  
  
Taken aback, Wylie responded unsurely. "I don't know."  
  
"I realize this is a enormous favor to ask of you. And I don't want your answer now. All I ask is that you'll look over the papers I send to your office. If you don't want to get involved I'll understand. But if you read them and agree that they're real, that the threat that Righteous represents is real, then I hope you'll help us."  
  
Wylie sat there speechless. He had, for a long while, been dissatisfied with Righteous. Though he didn't admit it to anyone, he agreed that Righteous was out of control. He had even thought that someone should do something about him. But for that someone to be him, it was unthinkable. Impossible.  
  
Chance's question cut through his thoughts. "Will you read over the material I send?"  
  
Absolutely not, it was out of the question. He could not be involved with something like this. Yet, for reasons he could not yet explain, he nodded encouragingly at the earnest young man in front of him. "Yes. I'll read it."  
  
Chance smiled reassuringly. "Thank you, Congressman. You won't be sorry. Oh, and I hope your head feels better." At Wylie's questioning look he gestured to the aspirin bottle he still held in his hand. In spite of himself, he smiled in response. He found Chance's soft-spoken manner, humor and intelligence a refreshing change of pace after putting up with all of the political games that others played. Chance reached for the door and exited the limo, wishing him a good night as he left.  
  
He sat there absorbing what had just happened. The television still droned softly in the corner, and it cut through his thoughts. His attention snapped to it when he realized what was going on. On the screen he saw a photo of Chance, and a caption underneath that said 'live on the phone: Jonathan Chance'. He reached over to turn up the volume.  
  
"- repeat, we are responsible for this bombing. Know that whoever opposes us will be dealt with in a similar manner." The shot on the screen switched to the MMM headquarters, windows blown and smoke issuing from numerous areas, and the caption said '4:48 p.m. today'. Dazed, injured people were milling around in front of the building, and more were stumbling outside or being carried out on stretchers. The early evening was lit up bright as day by the multitude of ambulances and fire trucks that were on the scene. The newscaster was exclaiming that after hours of waiting and wondering, the city of Chicago could finally put a face on the grim reaper among them, and it was that of Jonathan Chance. They began commenting on the number of fatalities, but in his shock Wylie didn't take in any more that was said.  
  
He glanced quickly out the window. He looked toward the garage's entrance, and he could see Chance as he exited the garage. How in the world could he be live on the phone taking responsibility for this terrorist act when he had been right there talking to him? Whoever was responsible for this tragedy it, certainly wasn't him, and yet there he was admitting that it was. Whatever was going on, Wylie vowed to get to the bottom of it. He shook his head at the senseless tragedy unfolding in front of his eyes. When his driver returned to the car, he startled the man by speaking from the darkness of the back seat.  
  
"We need to go to the MMM headquarters." The driver pulled out without comment, and Wylie spent the ride there deep in thought.  
  
***********  
  
Jon returned to the bar feeling better than he had in weeks. His conversation with Wylie left him hopeful that they finally had a chance to come out on top. The scene that greeted him as he entered the building, however, destroyed that satisfied feeling. All four of his friends were there, huddled around the television in such a tight circle he couldn't see what they were watching so intently. When they heard him enter, they turned as one toward him, and they each wore a slightly different expression of worry and fear.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" Jon asked lightly, trying to fight the sinking feeling inside him.  
  
They each looked at Vinny, who stood to talk to his friend. Jon had a strange flashback to the day his mother told him that his dog had gotten loose and was accidentally struck by a passing car as he dashed into the road. He already knew he didn't want to hear what Vinny had to say.  
  
"Jon, where have you been?" Vinny asked carefully, mainly because he had no idea where to start. Jonathan cocked his head slightly to one side and looked at him curiously.  
  
"I told you where I was going before I left. I went to find Wylie, remember? And by the way the meeting went very well, thanks for asking."  
  
Vinny pointedly ignored his friends chiding and continued. "Have you seen the news lately?"  
  
"Of course not, I've been traveling the roundabout route back here for the last two hours. Vinny, tell me what's going on." In response, Vinny turned back to the television set and Jon's eyes followed his to the screen. In shock, Jon saw the continued efforts of the rescue teams trying to free survivors from the wreckage of the partially destroyed MMM building. He moved closer to the television, his eyes glued to the drama unfolding before him.  
  
"How did this happen?" he asked no one in particular as he watched a dog search the rubble, sniffing for survivors.  
  
"You really don't know, do you?" Eddie asked in disbelief.  
  
Jon turned toward him in annoyance. "I already said I didn't. Why do you keep asking me that?"  
  
Vinny intervened before a quarrel could start. "Jon. the MMM building was bombed by a terrorist group."  
  
"A terrorist group," he repeated, hardly believing his ears. He looked back at the screen to explore the scene again. "Who would do something like this?"  
  
"They're saying it was us." Vinny watched as his friend's blue eyes snapped to meet his. Wide with shock, he shook his head slightly as if to deny what he had just heard. "What? Why?"  
  
"To assassinate Righteous. It seems that the letter bomb was addressed to him, but it went off prematurely." When Vinny saw that the look of confusion hadn't faded from Jon's face, he continued carefully. "Jon, I heard the phone call that you supposedly made claiming responsibility."  
  
"Me? I had nothing to do with this!" Jon exclaimed desperately.  
  
When Vinny spoke his voice was both soothing and apologetic. "I know that. I don't know how they did it. but it sounded exactly like you."  
  
Jon backed away from that, not able to face the implications of that statement. "Where did the bomb go off?"  
  
"The mailroom."  
  
With a small groan, Jon sat heavily in the chair Vinny had occupied. "I have friends who work there. I must've made hundreds of deliveries there over the years."  
  
"They're saying that's how it got past the normal security procedures," Harry offered. "They're saying you had inside help."  
  
Jon's face was unreadable as he looked up at Vinny and asked, "How many?"  
  
His friend understood what he was referring to. "39 dead, dozens injured."  
  
With that, what was left of Jon's composure crumbled. The number surprised him so that he reacted as if struck physically. Shaking his head as if to object, he took a sharp breath as if to say something, but couldn't speak. His mouth suddenly dry, he swallowed hard. Finally he found his voice, but when he spoke it sounded as if it were someone else, for this certainly could not be happening to him.  
  
"From one letter bomb?"  
  
Vinny answered reluctantly, not wanting to delve into the gory details of the event, but Jon seemed to need to know. "The bomb caused structural damage that collapsed an entire section of floors." He watched as Jon's gaze drifted away from his, back towards the television screen. Vinny attempted to drag him back to the problem at hand.  
  
"Jon, we have to figure out what we're going to do. Righteous has been on TV all evening branding you as a mass murderer."  
  
"Me?" Jonathan repeated softly, disbelieving.  
  
It was obvious that Jon was not ready to accept the situation, so Vinny took off the kid gloves. "He has you on tape admitting the whole thing! Jon, this is it. We've run out of time here and we have to figure out what to do about it!"  
  
With a visible effort, Jonathan shook himself out of the shock-induced trance that enveloped him. His heart thudding in his chest, he strove to apply his scattered thoughts to the problem at hand.  
  
"Let me think about this for a while. I want to see it for myself. I want to hear all the details of this, but most of all I want to hear this tape. Let me watch the news for a while, I'm sure they'll replay it. Then I'll be able to make some intelligent decisions."  
  
Apparently this response appeased Vinny's need for action, for he nodded and said his goodnights promising to check in later on. Harry and Eddie took his cue and left as well, leaving Robert standing there next to Jonathan. He had not spoken at all during the evening, feelings of deja vu enveloping him. It seemed as if that night so many years before was replaying itself. Also accused of a murder he did not commit, he was in the unique position of being able to relate to Jonathan's feelings right now. He left Jon to study the newscasts alone, knowing that he needed time and space to comprehend just exactly what was happening to him.  
  
When Robert descended from his bedroom hours later to check up on Jon, he found him in exactly the same position as he'd left him. The television screen emitted the only light in the room, and by it Robert saw Jon's profile. His eyes were hollow and haunted, his face set in a grim expression. Robert took a seat next to him without saying a word. He waited patiently to see what, if anything, Jon wanted to discuss. When he finally spoke it startled Robert, not only because of the abruptness of it but the way Jon's voice sounded, gravelly and rough with suppressed emotions.  
  
"I'm a dead man."  
  
Robert instinctively tried to find comforting words for him. "Jon, I don't know-"  
  
But Jonathan knew. He had been brooding on this very subject for the last hour and he was positive about it. "I do. The media has this pinned on me personally. I engineered the whole thing, I obtained the materials for the bomb, and I delivered the package. Illinois has the death penalty you know. The minute they catch me I'm a dead man."  
  
"So they just won't catch you," Robert said encouragingly.  
  
"I can't stay hidden forever, Kilroy. Sooner or later they'll find me. I have no way to prove that I wasn't responsible for this." Jon realized that, in his anxiety, he had raised his voice unconsciously and swallowed it back to continue on in a calmer tone. "It's only a matter of time now."  
  
Robert now saw that he had let Jonathan sit there alone for too long. Jon had convinced himself that he had no options, that there was no use in resisting the inevitable. He desperately needed to know that he wasn't in this alone. "There has to be something we can do."  
  
Jonathan spoke flatly, his voice betraying the fact that he had no hope left. "What is there to do? Who's going to listen to me? You've seen the news - they're out for blood on this one."  
  
Robert searched for inspiration. "Maybe Wylie can intervene. You said your talk went well."  
  
Jonathan practically snorted in derision at the idea. "When I talked to him my worst crimes were helping you escape and showing a bootleg video, not murdering three dozen people. Even if he did speak on my behalf, which there's no reason to think he would, why would anyone listen to him?" Jon shook his head in disbelief and sadness. "Did you see Eddie's face earlier? Even he wasn't sure I didn't do it. If he's wondering about it, what can I expect strangers to think?"  
  
Robert groped for some idea to help Jon, anything to give him to hang onto. He spoke with an optimism he didn't really feel. "We have to bring your case directly to the people, give them the facts and let them decide. You'll never get a fair hearing in Righteous' media."  
  
Jonathan's voice was filled with ash, the bright fire of defiance burned out of it. "I show my face anywhere and it's shoot first ask questions later, Kilroy. They'll never get a chance to hear what I have to say."  
  
"We'll find a way, Jon. There's always a way. I asked Vinny to contact Alec before, to alert him to be on the look out for anything he can find to clear you."  
  
Jon did not look at all reassured. "Thanks, but I can't imagine what he could find that would help."  
  
"You never know, Jon. I never thought I'd see the light of day after Righteous threw me in jail, but I escaped. By some miracle I got a second chance at freedom. For a long time there I thought I'd never get to look out a window that didn't have bars on it."  
  
At this, Jon looked up at him curiously. He had never spoken of him time in jail, and Jonathan had never probed him on the subject. He didn't want to revisit those memories but he knew that Jonathan needed to know that there was a light at the end of this tunnel. He continued, memories flooding back to him as he spoke.  
  
"Righteous used to make us watch his 'inspirational' speeches every night. He slowly and methodically ground every inch of defiance out of me. By the time your message reached me, I didn't think I had anything left to give. But the knowledge that there was someone out there who still cared made the difference. It gave me the strength to fight back." Robert saw the light slowly creeping back into Jonathan's eyes, and it encouraged him to continue, his voice strong and defiant.  
  
"Righteous specializes in breaking people's spirits. You gave me back my will to live, not just to exist from day to day, but really live. You reminded me that what we believe in is worth fighting for no matter the odds. Now I'm telling you the same thing. If you give up, he wins. Don't just hand him that victory, Jon, make him pay for it. I intend on moving heaven and earth to create the opportunity for us to present the truth to people. but I need you there with me. I can't do it alone."  
  
Jonathan was torn inside. He knew that what Robert was saying was right, but how could he fight back against something like this? Nothing could have prepared him for the feelings flooding him right now. He felt like an animal trapped, no sanctuary in sight. But the only alternative to resisting was to give up, and that was no option at all. The question now was what were they going to do, and where in the world would he find the courage to do it? Those questions were unanswerable right now, but at least he had gotten to the point where he could think in terms of fighting back.  
  
Eventually Jonathan nodded his head in reluctant agreement. "I know, you're right. It's just. " Jon hesitated, but tonight was not a night for holding back. He locked his gaze onto Robert, staring intently into his hazel eyes as if he could make himself understood that way. "It's never been this bad before. I could always handle things, you know? But this. this I don't know how to handle. Kilroy, I'm really scared."  
  
"I know. Believe me, I know what it's like. To know that there are people hunting you down, who want to kill you, and you know for sure that they'd do it in a minute if they had the chance.". Robert thought back on the prison guards and their threats, emphasizing the fact that they had total control over him. He knew they had the ability to carry them out, and the worst part was that no one would even find out about it until they chose to let it be known. Shaking off the memories, he continued on in a more positive tone of voice. "You've said it before, this is bigger than any one of us. We have to do what we have to do and then just hope for the best." Robert gave Jon a crooked smile. "If you told me you weren't scared, I'd send you off to have your head checked."  
  
Jon pulled a brave smile from some resource deep inside him. "You're not the first person to suggest I do that, you know."  
  
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me, Jon." 


	10. Oh momma I'm in fear for my life from th...

Oh momma I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law.  
  
Alec checked the room out carefully before he entered it. He felt silly doing it, but he would feel much worse if someone caught him in there. When he was satisfied that no one was around, he entered. The hum of many pieces of machinery covered the sound of his footsteps as he crossed the room. He had had to look on a floor layout plan to find this room, as he'd never had occasion to come here before. He was deep within the computer department in the room where they locked their vital equipment. All of the company's servers were there, as well as the telephone access panels.  
  
Just getting into the building was difficult due to the heightened security since the bombing. He wouldn't have been able to gain access if he were anyone else. but along with the responsibility his position carried, also came certain freedoms. The guards did not raise an eyebrow when he came through the door at one in the morning. He supposed they expected everything to be upside down for a few days until the building was back up and running. Power was out to a number of floors, pipes had burst and water had destroyed valuable equipment and files, and yellow police barrier tape still decorated the affected sections of the building. Luckily this room was well away from the blast site, so the main equipment received no damage. Wiring all over the building, however, was affected - which was why Alec was down here at all. He couldn't access the network from his office, and unless he wanted to wait for the repairs to be done, he needed to come down here to continue his search.  
  
Sitting alone amongst the larger machinery was a monitor and keyboard that he assumed the system administrator used to affect changes to the network software. How different could it be, he thought as he sat down to work. He pushed the button to power up the monitor and waited.  
  
Anne walked the silent hallways, lost in thought. The late night stillness had no affect on her, in fact in a way it was soothing, familiar from her years of working the night shift, as hated as it was. She had worked many long hours since the blast occurred trying to repair the damage done, and although her work was done for now, she had a few personal things she wanted to take care of before she went home for a few hours sleep. The damage done was appalling, not only in the loss of life but the destruction it wrought. In fact, there was only one good thing she could think of that had resulted from that horrible bombing of a few days ago. With so much repair being done to the network, there were a few favors she could do for Vinny while she was poking around the systems that wouldn't really be noticed. At least some good would come of all this, she reflected.  
  
Rounding the corner, she froze when she saw someone sitting at the terminal she was heading for. Who else could be here at this hour? Whoever it was didn't turn around, so he must not have heard her enter the room. She was just about to turn around and leave when she decided against that. After all, she had every right to be here. Her curiosity awakened, she approached the stranger.  
  
"Hello," she started, expecting the slight jump of surprise the man made at the sound of her voice. When he turned around however, it was her turn to be surprised. She was faced with Lt. Vanish, Righteous' second in command. What was HE doing here, and at this hour? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good news for her. Visions of her arrest flashed through her mind but she strove to keep her tone casual. "Lt. Vanish. sir. I didn't expect to see you here."  
  
On his part, Alec was racing to come up with a plausible reason for such late night doings. It had to look very suspicious, and the last thing he wanted was someone asking questions he had no good answers to. He knew his reputation was that of a man who was strict, and sometimes cruel. It seemed no one in the MMM wanted to have much to do with him - a call from him was always seen as a sign of trouble. He banked on this notoriety and decided to take a hard stand with this woman, whoever she was. Someone afraid of him was unlikely to ask too many questions. He put an annoyed look on his face.  
  
"Do you work in this department?" he asked brusquely.  
  
"Yes sir, I'm the director." Director of Special Projects, not of IT, but it was close enough for the likes of him. She had every right to be there, she thought again, and wondered why she kept reassuring herself with that.  
  
He asked her a question he already knew the answer for, in order to put her on the spot. "Well then, maybe you can tell me why I can't access any of my files from my office computer."  
  
"Sir, the blast destroyed entire chunks of the network. It's going to take sometime to rewire the building."  
  
He answered her with irritation. "Time is the one thing I don't have, young lady. I need access to information now."  
  
"Perhaps I can help you out then," Anne offered. Anything to get this man out of here. The sooner he left the better she'd feel, and if helping him got him out of here faster she'd be happy to do it. "I can retrieve your files and put them on floppy for you. That way you can take them back to your office and work on them at your leisure." Alec stared at her, not believing what he just heard. Someone who knew what they were doing with computers was offering to help him? He had come up against a brick wall in his search, and here was someone who could most likely help him retrieve the data he needed. She had no need to know what those files contained. Lady luck was finally with him, it seemed.  
  
"I suppose that will have to do," he said, continuing his charade of annoyance at the inconvenience. He got up from his seat before the terminal and motioned for her to take his place. Leaning over her shoulder to see the screen better, he indicated the server he was attempting to access and added that he would not be sure of the files he needed until he saw the listing. In his excitement, he did not see the fleeting look of surprise that covered Anne's face. She swallowed back the numerous questions filling her and did as he asked.  
  
For maintenance reasons, she had access to every file server in the entire organization. It took only a few keystrokes and she was in. This was the server he could not access; here was all the information he so desperately wanted to see. Scanning the list of file names quickly, so as to seem to be recalling something already known instead of discovering it for the first time, he pointed to a number of files he wanted copied. He asked for dozens, unsure of what exactly was in each, with the knowledge he might never get another chance like this again. Filling up a number of floppy disks in silence, Anne let her imagination try and fill in the blanks as to what he needed all this information for. She knew better than to ask, for not only would he refuse to answer her but he would be suspicious of her curiosity. Eventually they were all done. She handed the last diskette to him wordlessly, and he muttered some sort of thanks and practically ran out of the room. Waiting to hear the door close behind him, she moved to perform her own tasks for the evening, putting aside the strange encounter to ponder at a later time.  
  
***********  
  
"Hope, I have a favor to ask," Vinny said as nonchalantly as possible, as if he'd just remembered a small insignificant task that was left undone now at the end of the day. His heart was beating fast in his chest, and he forced himself to calm down. He hated this even as he understood the need for it. He told himself again she had no idea what they were really planning, and he needed to keep it that way. He reminded himself that Jon's freedom, and possibly his life, depended on him right now. So when she looked up in curiosity at his comment, his face was bland and normal.  
  
"Sure Vinny. What is it?"  
  
"I need you to buy some bus tickets for me. Actually, it's a combination of bus and train tickets." He handed her a piece of paper with a number of dates, cities and times on it. "I need you to get only what is on this list. If something is sold out or if you find out they've changed the schedule, I need you to tell me. Don't just get the next closest thing, check back with me first."  
  
She looked at the paper and suppressed the urge to smile. It was obvious to her that she was being handed a travel itinerary for someone who wanted desperately to discourage someone from following them. Finally, pay dirt. She decided to play it as always, concerned and nosy. "What is all this Vinny? Is there something wrong I should know about?"  
  
His discomfort quickly mutated into anger at her obvious attempt to obscure her real feelings. She knew that he was asking her to purchase tickets for two people to escape from the city undetected, and he knew that she knew that. She still did not realize that he knew that Hope was a spy, and he was trying to keep it that way. Two could play at that game, he decided, and responded with kindness, as if he were trying to soothe her fears for his safety.  
  
"Hope, please. I can't tell you anything other than this is vitally important. I'm counting on you to follow these instructions exactly. Ok?" She nodded solemnly, and he found a reassuring smile for her somewhere. As he walked away, he thought of how little she realized that they truly were counting on her to follow these instructions if everything was to work smoothly. He went home, suddenly feeling very dirty and in need of a shower.  
  
***********  
  
Kilroy and he stood on the podium next to Congressman Wylie, looking out over the crowd. He was nervous but he held his ground, trusting Wylie to speak on their behalf as he had agreed to.  
  
"Dr. Righteous. I have apprehended the two criminals you have been seeking!" In shock and horror, he saw Wylie and Righteous shaking hands while MMM guards grabbed him roughly and handcuffed him. Hyde and Righteous were beaming and  
  
proud, and Wylie was chatting to the gathered reporters about his re- election plans. As they were marched out of the room, the guards had to keep the angry crowd from tearing them apart. Taunts of "murderer!" trailed him out of the room and into the street.  
  
He could see that they had erected two large beams, thick as telephone poles, embedded in the concrete of the plaza. There was a huge crowd of people waiting outside for them, encircling the poles. As he was pushed through the crowds by the guards, he heard snatches of conversation.  
  
". deserves whatever he gets.." ".should let the families of the victims take a crack at them first." ".suffer like they did."  
  
He twisted in the guard's grasp, trying to seek an avenue of escape but the crowd was thick around them. It seemed as if the entire city of Chicago had turned out for this. Abruptly they reached the edge of the crowd, and he was ushered past the police barricades that kept them at bay.  
  
A split second of relief engulfed him, for the barriers separated him from the anger and hate directed at him. The relief fled from him as he saw Righteous there waiting for them, motioning to the guards to bring them forward. He was pushed back against the pole and bound securely to it. He yanked as hard as he could, practically dislocating his own shoulder in the process, but they had tied him down well. He looked up from his struggling to see Righteous lift one hand, and his attention shifted to the row of guards that had escorted them outside. They raised their guns as one and aimed. The screaming of the crowd reached a frenzied level, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Righteous' arm come down. The guns fired.  
  
. And Jon bolted upright in bed. Drenched in sweat despite the cool weather, he propped himself up and sat there catching his breath. Leaning back on his elbows in exhaustion, Jonathan thought back on the nightmare he'd just had. At least this time we made it up there, he thought with irony. Last night they had been apprehended before they even entered the building. Each night his dream was slightly different yet they all somehow had the same ending, the public execution. No matter how ridiculous he knew the idea to be, his dreams were so realistic and vivid that he awoke in a cold sweat.  
  
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulled on the pair of jeans and the denim shirt he had worn that day, and wandered downstairs. Over the last few days, he had striven to hide his fears and be as confident and optimistic as possible for everyone else, even as he watched the organization he worked so hard to build fold like a house of cards. He couldn't tell which felt worse, the depression or the disgust he felt about how quickly things fell into ruin. The newer volunteers were quitting in droves and even those who had been working with him for a long time were making excuses and putting distance between themselves and the group. He had noticed how Eddie and Harry had been unavailable to help him lately, and it didn't take a brain surgeon to see they were afraid of being there when the MMM finally caught up to him. Jonathan didn't really blame them, however disappointed he might be; they both had families to think of. In any case, it was like watching rats deserting a sinking ship. Righteous didn't need to arrest anyone to get his way; he could simply sit there watching the organization bleed slowly to death. Something needed to be done, and done quickly, which was why he agreed with Kilroy's plan.  
  
It was announced that Righteous was planning to hold a memorial service for the victims of the MMM building bombing the very next week. It was going to be televised live, and when he heard about it Robert had come up with an idea. Robert had approached him days ago with the idea of attending the memorial service  
  
themselves and confronting Righteous. In public, in front of hundreds of people and being broadcast to millions more via live nationwide television, there was no way that he could refuse to hear them out. Robert had seemed surprised that Jonathan had agreed with him so quickly. It seemed he had no idea how desperate Jonathan really felt. He was ready to take any action that appeared to have even the remotest possibility of working. Since then, their days had been spent planning this  
  
unannounced visit and Alec was given a deadline by which he had to be able to find some sort of proof they could present in their own defense. Between this and trying to hold his organization together, Jonathan's days were full and he kept himself as busy as he could to keep his mind off of things. It was only now, in the lonely quiet hours of early morning, that he allowed himself to relax and his demons came out to haunt him.  
  
Jonathan pulled a chair up to the window and sat down in it backward, straddling it. He crossed his arms on the backrest of the chair and leaned forward, staring out at the sliver of sky that was visible to him between the buildings. He surprised himself by still feeling a bit shaken from the nightmare that awoke him. He had to face it, these dreams were getting worse. Jon shook his head at himself - no wonder, he was getting more and more nervous about their plan to attend the memorial service. For about one tenth of a second he entertained the idea of making a run for it, then quickly discarded it. However tempting that might sound, he knew it would never work. If he couldn't run he had to stay where he was, and he and Robert couldn't stay in hiding forever. The mere thought of doing that, even if it were feasible, made him somehow feel more caged than he imagined he would in jail ... it was simply not an option for him. The thought of living his whole life in hiding, or forever on the run and looking over his shoulder, made him desperate for some sort of resolution to this entire thing. He wanted to put an end to it once and for all.  
  
This, therefore, was really their best chance for a favorable outcome. If they were going to help themselves, they had to do whatever they could as quickly as possible because the longer they waited the more impossible it would be to clear themselves of the alleged crimes. So he agreed to attempt this one last act, as desperate and hopeless as it seemed and as much as he hated the idea of confronting Righteous in person. It was just that, after all the times he believed that things would work out and they didn't, he had very little hope left. Deep down Jon wasn't really confident that this plan would work either.  
  
Jonathan didn't really expect Alec would be able to find anything to help prove his innocence. He'd been having such a hard time with finding the proof to clear Robert that Jon didn't expect that Alec would just happen to stumble upon something that could help his situation. He still agreed with Robert, this was something they had to do, but that didn't make it any easier for him to accept. His dreams manifested his deep seated terror about what might happen at that memorial service.  
  
He was worried that Righteous would be able to put a negative spin on their evidence like he did the bootleg video. If he did, Jon realized they were finished before they even got started, and so they hoped to be able to get a few words in before Righteous could interrupt. At this point, Jonathan was just hoping that Wylie's support would be enough to give them those few moments to speak their piece, so that the guards would not shoot first and ask questions later. The best Jonathan could realistically hope for was that if they could prove Robert was framed, then perhaps the police might believe that he might have been framed as well and give him a fair investigation before deciding he was guilty. No matter how optimistic he was attempting to be, he knew even this was a long shot. The closer it got to the deadline without Alec coming up with anything, the firmer his belief got that the minute he showed his face in public he would be a dead man. And if they couldn't come up with the proof to clear Robert, he and Jonathan would have adjoining cells on Death Row. Jon lowered his head, burying his forehead against his folded arms. These bizarre dreams had to stop. If he didn't get some decent sleep soon he was going to start losing his mind. He finally pushed himself up and climbed the stairs, ready to attempt a dreamless slumber once again.  
  
***********  
  
Anne sat quietly, sipping her hot chocolate and observing the goings on in Grant Park. She watched people traveling up and down the path along the lake, on wheels or on foot.  
  
"Hey there," Vinny said lightly, startling Anne out of her thoughts. She looked up as he sat down next to her on the park bench, sighing deeply as he did so. She frowned with worry at how tired he looked. "You look exhausted."  
  
"I am," he said with a sigh, not meeting her gaze. Instead he examined the few ships brave enough to sail on Lake Michigan in the quickly changeable weather of autumn.  
  
"Too much to do and not enough time to do it in, you know?"  
  
"I'm sorry I had to drag you out here."  
  
He shook his head with a tired grin. "Please, don't be. I don't get here often, it's a treat. And I always have time for you," he added, his smile turning charming.  
  
"I wouldn't have asked you to meet me unless I thought it was important," she countered, for as much as he flattered her with compliments she knew he had no time for games these days. "Something disturbing happened last night I think you should know about."  
  
The smile dropped immediately from his face. She could see the flash of concern in his dark eyes, the tightening of his jaw as he braced himself for whatever she was about to reveal. She didn't know how to make this any better, so she plowed ahead.  
  
"Last night at about one in the morning I came across Lieutenant Vanish sitting at my desk, trying to access some files off the network. He was trying to get into the server that houses all of Righteous' personal files. You'd think he would have the server login password but he seemed to be having trouble with it. Once we got in he had me copy a bunch of files onto floppy for him; files with names like Kilroy and Chance. Fat load of good they're going to do him without the file passwords though." She stopped and took a deep breath. "Vinny, I think Vanish is onto something, maybe onto you guys. I'm not sure how he might have found you out, but he has me worried."  
  
In astonishment, Anne saw the tension drain from Vinny's expression, to be replaced by eagerness. "Do you know what was in those files you copied for him?"  
  
"No." Here she paused and considered her companion closely. "Vinny, what's going on?"  
  
His thoughts racing with all the possibilities, he barely heard her question. He chewed his lower lip thoughtfully, debating with himself. He finally found something, he thought. About bloody time. Vinny only hoped it would be enough to drive home the killing blow they so desperately needed.  
  
But she said he was would most probably have trouble with the files, he thought. Righteous must have put some mighty strong encryption on them; I sure would if I were in his place. Vinny looked again at the woman seated next to him. Another question came to him, the question of whether he should tell her that Vanish was working with them, attempting to find proof of Robert's innocence. After a moment's debate Vinny realized there was really nothing to think about. Anne was not stupid, nor was she blind. She knew something was going on and without the full story she might jump to incorrect conclusions. Anyway, maybe she could get open those files where Alec couldn't.  
  
By the time all of these thoughts had passed through his mind Anne was staring at him expectantly. She sat there patiently, watching a dozen different emotions roll across his face. She was positive that when he finally chose to speak it would be worth waiting for.  
  
"Anne, I'm going to tell you something. Please don't ask me how or why, just accept it as fact. Vanish is on our side. He was looking for some files he believes contain information that would clear Robert. I think he's going to have trouble breaking the passwords on the files, and I'd like you to help him."  
  
She sat in silence for a moment, her expression unreadable. Vinny watched her expectantly, hoping he hadn't made a deadly mistake. Suddenly she exhaled a held breath, a look of amazement on her face. "Boy oh boy, you sure never disappoint me, Vin. I was betting there was a good story behind this one. So, you got Vanish to help you. no," she said at the look on his face, "I'm not going to ask how. Someday you'll buy me a beer and tell me the whole sordid story, but for now I'll take it at face value. He's having trouble cracking open the files, huh?"  
  
"I haven't heard for sure, but I'll bet good money he is. Do you think you can do anything with them?"  
  
She cocked her head thoughtfully, staring sightlessly out over the lake. Her mind was on other things than the colorful sailboats passing by. After a moment she answered, "Can't say for sure until I see what I'm dealing with, but I can certainly try."  
  
Vinny nodded. There was no need to recite the list of dangers she knew she was putting herself in the path of by digging deeper into the illegal organization. No words of thanks could describe the gratitude Vinny felt for all that she had done for them. When he spoke, his voice was gruff.  
  
"Well. I'll have to set up a meeting between you two. It's not as if I can just leave him a message on his answering machine about you." Anne nodded. Vinny got up to leave and walked a few steps away when he suddenly stopped. He turned back toward her and regarded her with a smile that was both sad and hopeful.  
  
"Anne?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm planning on buying you a big thick steak to go along with that beer."  
  
She smiled. By now she knew Vinny's idiosyncrasies, and this was his way of  
  
telling her to be careful. "Save your pennies, Vinny. We're going to the best steakhouse in town if you're paying."  
  
And Vinny understood that was her way of saying thanks, and don't worry I'll watch my back. She was planning on being around to enjoy that dinner. He smiled again, this time with humor. "Not a very cheap date, are you?"  
  
"No I'm not. But I'm worth it, Vin."  
  
He nodded fondly. "I know you are."  
  
***********  
  
Vinny was surprised to see a dim light coming from inside the bar when he looked through the front window. Who could be up at this hour? He let himself in and called out softly.  
  
"Hello? Anybody home?" He saw Jonathan balanced precariously on a barstool,  
  
attempting to pry open a stuck window. It wouldn't budge, and he started to bang on the wooden frame with his fist to loosen it. As Vinny crossed the room, he noticed Jonathan's pounding was not some light tapping to jiggle it open but a hearty pounding that was threatening to shatter the old window entirely.  
  
"Open, dammit, open!" Jonathan muttered to himself, increasingly frustrated. Once again he couldn't sleep and all he wanted out of life was a little fresh air, and he was even having trouble with that. The window refused to comply, however, and it was the last straw. He had the insane urge to just put his fist through the glass and have done with it, and he quite possibly would have done so if Vinny had not interrupted him.  
  
"Need some help?" Jonathan stopped his work to look down at his friend. Vinny was standing there, a cautious look on his face. Jon wondered what he could be apprehensive about. and then he realized it was him. He must look like a lunatic, perched on a rickety old barstool destroying a window at two in the morning. Jon carefully got down, a sheepish look on his face.  
  
"No thanks, I was just trying to open the window. It's stuck."  
  
Vinny raised one eyebrow and eyed him carefully. "Obviously."  
  
Jon frowned in irritation at Vinny's tone of voice. He didn't know what Vinny's problem was but he was not in the mood to deal with it. He had been woken by another one of his nightmares and was all out of patience. He picked up the barstool and walked away from the window to return it to where he had gotten it from. "The last thing I need right now is your sarcasm, Vinny. What are you doing here anyway?"  
  
Vinny shook his head. "I don't know... I can't seem to sleep in my own bed anymore. I started out taking a walk and found myself on my way here. Every time I close my eyes I can see Hope there." he trailed off in embarrassment. "Pretty stupid, huh?"  
  
When he heard the pain evident in Vinny's voice, Jon felt his annoyance drain away. He looked at his friend standing there, hands in his pockets, looking very lost. "No, you don't sound stupid." He crossed back to where Vinny still stood and pulled up a chair to sit in. "You sound like a man who's had his heart broken."  
  
Vinny shrugged off his coat and joined him, sighing deeply as he sat. After a moment of silence he continued. "She took the bait, you know. She's expecting you and Robert to try and escape during the memorial service. You should have a pretty clear path to the building."  
  
Jonathan nodded his understanding. They both knew that the reason Vinny kept up the pretense of their relationship was a good one, and they both hated every moment of it. There seemed to be nothing Jon could say to make it any better. Vinny felt Jon's sympathetic silence surrounding him and it made him even sadder, so he abruptly changed the subject.  
  
"So what was that about?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Vinny gestured toward the wall with a nod of his head. "The window. You were beating it to within an inch of its life. What did it ever do to you to deserve such abuse?"  
  
Jonathan brushed his hair out of his eyes tiredly, frowning. His temper was short these days, no doubt due to a lack of sleep. He tried to shrug off Vinny's questions, none of which he felt like answering right now. "It was stuck. It got me a little frustrated, that's all."  
  
"Jon, you looked like you were going to break a hole through the wall any minute."  
  
"It was nothing," he responded shortly.  
  
"But Jon-"  
  
Jon pushed himself away from the table roughly and got to his feet. "Just drop it, all right?" he yelled. "Jesus, why can't you just leave me alone!"  
  
Vinny was not put off so easily. Jon's angry outburst only served to make him irate. "I don't leave you alone because it's obvious you can't take care of yourself. You were two minutes away from either putting your fist through a glass window or falling off that stool and cracking your head open. It was just a question of which would happen first."  
  
Jon stood there glaring at Vinny, who met his gaze steadily. He closed his eyes on the headache he was nursing and sighed, rubbing at his temples with both hands to release some of the tension there. When he spoke the stress was evident in his voice. "Vin, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I'm just tired, that's all."  
  
"Then can I ask why you're not in bed?"  
  
Vinny noticed Jonathan wouldn't meet his gaze. "I've been having a little trouble sleeping. It's no big deal."  
  
Vinny shook his head in refusal. "Jonathan, for months I've listened to you tell me that you were fine, that I shouldn't worry and you could handle it. I'm not taking that as an answer anymore. Tell me what's going on."  
  
Jonathan stood silent for a minute, and just as Vinny thought Jon was being stubborn and refusing to respond the words tumbled out of him in a rush. Jon walked away from the table and paced nervously, refusing to look him in the eye as he spoke. "I've been having these dreams. well, I guess you might call them nightmares, really. I know it's just my overactive imagination getting the best of me, but they feel so real, Vin. I wake up and I can't shake the creepy feeling I get from them. I can't rationalize it away by thinking its just some fantasy and what happened was impossible, because the truth is it could."  
  
Wanting to help, Vinny asked Jon in a gentle voice, "What are your dreams about?"  
  
Jon's voice had lost all its color and energy. He had nothing left, he was too tired to even feel scared anymore. He leaned his back against the wall and spoke flatly. "Lately they've been about the memorial service. It always starts out with Kilroy and I on our way there, then something goes wrong and we get caught. and it always ends the same, with our execution."  
  
Vinny smiled encouragingly at his friend. "Jon, we're all worried about what might happen during that service, but I think it's a safe bet that no one's going to die."  
  
Jon didn't seem relieved to hear this. "Well, not right then of course. but you have to think they're going to ask for the maximum sentence available to them in this case, and we all know what that is."  
  
"We do? I'm not even sure what you're talking about," Vinny asked in confusion. Jon stopped his preoccupied rambling, realizing that his friend had no idea what he was referring to. He stepped back to the table, reaching for a fat book that was sitting there. He opened it and started thumbing through the pages.  
  
"Vinny, they have me on tape confessing to the crime. In this state that confession would hold up, and with such a confession there is no trial, only a sentencing. Here," he said, finally finding the page he was looking for. He turned the book for Vinny to read and stood there over him, arms crossed, as Vinny scanned the section he indicated.  
  
"Thirty nine people died in that blast. They're going for the death penalty for sure."  
  
So that was why Jon had asked if he could find a book on the Illinois state criminal code. Vinny read the section once, and then twice to make sure he understood it correctly. Jonathan was right - it seemed that the phone call they were touting as being from Jon would legally hold up as a confession. With such a confession, he was not entitled to a trial but would go straight to sentencing. After the public outcry and media coverage they'd been viewing, making Jon out to be public enemy number one, Vinny also had no doubt what that sentence would be. It was a very real possibility that, if arrested, Jonathan would indeed be looking at receiving the death penalty. Their only chance at proving his innocence was a desperate plan filled with risks and pitfalls. He could now understand why his friend had been having nightmares. All the while these thoughts ran through Vinny's head, Jonathan stayed where he was, watching his friend, his arms wrapped tight around himself as if to provide some sort of comfort. He watched as the realization of what he was talking about manifested itself on his friend's face.  
  
"Jon," he started, and then trailed off. What could he say to his friend that wasn't some contrite statement of comfort? He couldn't prevent any of this from happening; he couldn't even make it easier. Never before had Vinny felt so helpless. There had always been some action he could take, but now. there seemed to be nothing to do but let the chips fall where they may. All they could do was hope that they would be able to present their case and then hope that it would be enough. It was all too easy for the entire thing to backfire on them, and they knew no matter how well it went they were still going to walk out of there in handcuffs, even if only until the police sorted through the entire mess. Charges such as those they were brought up on are not so easily dismissed, and it would be a long and arduous process to clear their names. This time the stakes were much higher than he'd realized before. It wasn't until he understood how badly Jonathan was shaken over the whole situation, and understood why, that it really hit him.  
  
And what was there to say to Jon? Vinny couldn't quite read the expression on his friend's face. He was scared all right, but also resigned. An idea came to him and he grasped onto it quickly. "Jon, you don't have to do this. If Alec and Anne can't find anything - or even if they do - there's nothing that says you have to deliver yourself up to Righteous. We'll find some other way of getting the word out."  
  
"No, Vinny, I have to go." Jon smiled at his friend's anxious concern. He had to make him understand what he was feeling. "I'm innocent. The longer I stay in hiding the more it looks as if I have something to hide. I have to trust that I'll be given a fair investigation and trial. although after the sham of a trial they gave Kilroy I'm having trouble feeling very confident about that. But I can't run forever, Vinny. This ends at that memorial service, for good or for bad, with the proof or without it. I can't go on this way any longer. Neither can Kilroy, apparently, since going there was his idea in the first place. No, Vin," he finished, "we attend that service and do the best we can. I've accepted that. It's just that late at night all my monsters come out of the closet and sometimes it's tough trying not to feel like a lamb being led to the slaughter."  
  
Vinny stood with Jon, as if to lend his physical as well as his emotional support. "What can I do to help?"  
  
Jon shrugged, not knowing what if anything was even possible for him to do. "Just being here helps, Vin. Thanks."  
  
Vinny smiled. "Hey, if me being here is what you need, I can do that no problem. I'm very good at being where I am."  
  
Jonathan shook his head at his friend. "Are you being intentionally goofy to cheer me up or are you always like this?"  
  
Vinny smiled wickedly. "Wouldn't you just love to know?"  
  
Jonathan laughed as he walked upstairs. "Just for that you get to sleep on the floor," he joked back, as if there were any place else for him to sleep in the sparsely furnished hideout.  
  
"Yeah, I figured as much," Vinny said, following him in hopes of stealing a blanket. 


	11. Take a chance on what I believe in, win ...

Take a chance on what I believe in, win or lose I know it's right.  
  
"Nothing," she said with obvious disappointment. Alec sighed heavily, and stared morosely at the data whizzing by on the screen. For five days now, they had the most powerful computer the MMM owned running a program that generated random combinations of letters and numbers and tried them against the file, and so far it had produced nothing of use. Anne shook her head. "This just isn't going to work fast enough."  
  
"Isn't there something else we can try?" Alec asked, desperation creeping into his voice.  
  
A desperate feeling Anne shared with him. There was only two more days until the memorial service. If they couldn't find some proof for Jon and Robert Kilroy they were serving themselves up to Righteous on a platter. "Well.we could try and guess it ourselves."  
  
"If the computer can't figure it out, how will we?"  
  
"The computer isn't intuitive," she explained. "It just tries codes one at a time in order, not understanding any meaning that they might have. A human being put that password on there, so another human being should be able to discern what that password might be."  
  
"You really think taking educated guesses will work?"  
  
"It can't hurt. We just have to try and get inside his head and think of what he might put as a password."  
  
"Ok," he said. "Let's try it."  
  
She turned to the next terminal and called up the file. She reached the screen that asked for the password and turned expectantly to Alec. "What should I try?"  
  
Alec pondered for a moment. They went through a number of dates - the date Robert was arrested, the date the rock law was passed, the date his cable network first went on the air. Each time she typed in the information the computer bleeped at them. Invalid password, please re-enter.  
  
Hours later they were no closer than they had been to prying open the file. Alec had exhausted every idea he had, and now Anne was trying some she thought might work. Nothing. Alec was perched on the arm of a chair next to her, watching her input words and numbers.  
  
"Why 'Cooper'?"  
  
"It's his mother's maiden name." Invalid password, please re-enter. She typed again and received the same message.  
  
"And Aristotle?"  
  
"His cat," she answered distractedly, not noticing the tone of curiosity and distrust in his voice.  
  
"How in hell do you know what his cat's name is?"  
  
She looked up in surprise at him and just then realized what she'd done. She was concentrating so heavily on the task at hand that she completely forgot he was there next to her and she slipped, and now she had to explain herself. Annoyed at herself for being so clumsy, she turned away from the screen to face him.  
  
"Alec.over the last few days you've told me your whole story, how Righteous  
  
used and hurt you. That couldn't have been easy, it took a lot of guts to admit something like that. I'm sort of carrying around a secret like that myself." She took a breath, and expelled it slowly. "You see, Everett's my cousin."  
  
He was silent for quite a while, digesting this piece of information. He could hardly believe the quiet, soft-spoken woman sitting beside him was related to the blustering man so many feared. "Does Vinny know?"  
  
She shook her head vehemently. "No. Do you think he'd ever trust me again if he knew? I couldn't tell him, how could I explain it? I have a hard enough time explaining my motives to myself, let alone someone else. Blood is supposed to be thicker than water. but a long time ago I realized what he was doing was wrong, and somehow the fact that we're related made me feel responsible, and I had to do what I could to help. Since I wanted to find some way to counter the damage he did, I volunteered to help Vinny. I did background checks, fixed files. I never did anything to hurt Everett, just help rebuild the lives he ruined. I mean, he is my cousin. but he's wrong. Then, like I'm not feeling guilty enough, he turns around and gives me this ridiculous promotion I never wanted." She stopped, at a loss for words.  
  
He could see she was torn. It must be difficult, growing up with someone and watching them change before your eyes. She was caught between her loyalty to a family member and her need to do what was right. He wondered what side of Righteous or rather, Everett, she saw. He tried to picture them at Christmas dinner together and he couldn't quite wrap his mind around the concept. "I can see why you wouldn't want anyone to know."  
  
She looked at him then, thinking it was possible he understood her problem. "Can you let me tell them myself?"  
  
"Of course," he assured her. It certainly wasn't his place to go around airing people's dirty laundry. He had enough of his own to wash clean. She smiled her thanks at him, then turned back to the computer.  
  
All business once again, she spoke briskly. "Thank you. Now, let's try this one more time." She paused to think, then typed a few characters. She was so used to hearing the short bleep that accompanied the error message that it took her a moment to figure out what was wrong. Or rather, what was right.  
  
She and Alec sat in silence, staring at the open document in front of them. She looked at him in shock, seeing the smile spread across his face as he read the contents. "Yes, this is it! Look, all the information on Kilroy's arrest." He turned to her excitedly. "What was the password?"  
  
"Zeppelin. I remember the mini civil war he started in our family by asking to go to that concert." She looked up with amusement. "He paved the way for the rest of us. It was the first rock concert any of us ever got to go to."  
  
"Excellent password. I certainly never would have guessed it."  
  
Alec sat in his office, listening to the photocopier run in the outer room. They had moved up there so they could print out copies of the files on MMM letterhead. As he printed out the files, Anne was taking them and making copies for him to deliver to Robert. He had finished with the ones that pertained to Jonathan and Robert, and now he tried one called 'Vanish Background'. He sat there looking at the list of rock bands Anne had made that she recalled were Righteous' favorites. It had taken only a few tries each time to figure out what password worked with which file, and as he went along the list narrowed.  
  
He sat there wondering what would be inside this file. With Robert's help, he had regained many of his memories but there were many he still could not recall. They sat there in the distance, just beyond his reach, tantalizing in their inaccessibility. Perhaps something contained here would jog his memory. Working on gut instinct, he opened the file and ignored the list of names, trying 'Kilroy' as the password. It immediately opened.  
  
The nearly blank page stared back at him tauntingly. It took him a moment to take in the meaning of this. but once he had it was crystal clear. Righteous didn't even care enough to write his history down, as he would never have need of it again. He never thought Alec would get to see this file. Cold resolve hardening his heart, he deleted the file without a second thought. He had never felt better about being the instrument of Righteous' destruction than right now.  
  
***********  
  
"You don't have to sleep on the floor again, Vinny. Take the bed."  
  
"Nah, I'm fine," he demurred. Let Jonathan sleep in his own bed, he might just get a full night's rest that way. To close the discussion, he busied himself plumping the pillow he'd brought from home and arranging the comforter. As the fall progressed, the bar had been noticeably cold at night, and Vinny had brought all the blankets he owned over for Robert and Jon, reserving one for himself. Hearing no further arguments, Vinny curled up and fell fast asleep.  
  
Voices. There was someone speaking in the dead silence of the night. Vinny woke up, straining to hear. He sat up and looked around in the dark, only the moonlight coming through the window illuminating the room. There was no one to be seen, and for a moment he thought he was just hearing things. A mumbled word or two floated down to him from the bed, and he realized the voice he'd heard was Jonathan's. He stood up and walked over to Jonathan, who appeared to be having a restless night's sleep as he was completely entangled in the top sheet. The blanket was nowhere to be found - Vinny figured he must've kicked it off the bed. In the bright harvest moonlight Vinny could see his friend as he slept, as Jon turned his head, crying out softly in his sleep. Vinny couldn't understand his mumbling very well, just a few words here and there.  
  
Vinny realized Jon must be having another one of those nightmares and wasn't quite sure what to do. Should he wake him up or not? He finally decided maybe he should wake him up - that way, if he wasn't too far into the dream, maybe he wouldn't be so shaken and he'd be able to fall back to sleep more easily.  
  
All Jonathan knew was the mob of people following him. It was much worse than the crowd he had escaped in the park, for these people were armed and angry. He raced down unknown streets, the crowd relentlessly gaining on him, their taunts of "Killer, murderer!" reaching his ears. MMM guards led the way, urging them on. Suddenly he felt a hand touch his arm as someone finally caught up to him. He jerked his arm out of their grasp hoping to escape, and then suddenly he felt himself fall, pain spreading in the center of his chest.  
  
Vinny bent over Jon, touching his shoulder gently, not wanting to startle him. As he shook him slightly to awaken him, he was rewarded with a scream that tore out of Jon's throat roughly, sounding almost primal. Vinny jumped back in surprise just as Jon's eyes flew open and he tried to reach out to him. He was sleeping near the edge of the bed and his lunge towards Vinny toppled him over onto the floor in a heap. Jonathan was so well wrapped up in the sheet his hands were caught and he couldn't break his fall - so he landed face down, the wind knocked out of him.  
  
Jonathan had no idea where he was. It was dark and he was bound up, with a sharp pain in his chest. The crowd. the pain in his chest and the reason he couldn't catch his breath. they must have shot at him. All he could do was lay there, face down, gasping for air.  
  
"Jon? Hey, are you all right?"  
  
Vinny? What was he doing there? The ground below him didn't feel like concrete.  
  
"Jon, you were having a nightmare and you fell out of bed."  
  
A nightmare. He opened his eyes, which he'd closed when hitting the floor, to see the leg of the bedpost in front of him, and he slowly realized Vinny was right. He was glad he was on the floor, because the feeling of relief that swept him was so strong his limbs felt weak. Vinny was saying something to him but he couldn't respond, he just lay there catching his breath. After a moment he attempted to sit up straight but he couldn't. What was wrong now? Oh, the bed sheets. He was twisted up in the bed sheets. He stopped struggling with them and let Vinny untangle him enough to move on his own.  
  
Vinny crouched on the floor next to him, and every moment Jon didn't move or speak increased his worry. After a minute Jon seemed to want to sit up, but he couldn't work himself out of the sheet the way he was. Vinny helped to untangle him from the sweat-soaked sheet, and he realized how cold and clammy Jon felt - he was shaking uncontrollably.  
  
"Jon, are you ok?" He attempted to speak, but nothing would come out. His throat hurt and all he received for his efforts was a tiny croak. Why does my throat hurt? He just nodded yes, that would have to do.  
  
Vinny didn't know what to do for him. He never meant to scare Jon like that, he felt horrible. There was a soft tap on the half open door. Vinny turned to see Rob poking his head into the room.  
  
He had awoken with a start when he heard the scream and loud thud. At first  
  
Robert thought for sure the MMM broke in and was there to arrest them, but there weren't any of the other noises that he'd expect to hear if they were being raided. When he got out of bed to investigate, he could hear Vinny's voice coming from Jon's room and he went in to see if everything was ok. It was hard to see in the dark, but he thought he saw Vinny trying to help Jon to a sitting position, leaning him against the bed. "Vinny, what happened? I heard a scream."  
  
Not wanting to go into the details about the nightmares Jon had been having, Vinny answered, "Jon fell out of bed. He's fine, just a little stunned by the fall - he'll be ok." Rob nodded and stepped out of the room, wandering off to the bathroom. He figured there was probably more to it than that, but he didn't want to intrude. He filled a glass with water, brought it back to Jon's room and handed it to Vinny who was now standing in the doorway as if he knew Robert was coming back.  
  
"Thanks," he said, taking the glass and kneeling down to put the glass into Jon's shaking hands. He wasn't sure if Jon would be able to grip the glass without dropping it, so he held on to the glass and helped bring it up to Jon's lips so he could take a sip.  
  
After drinking some of the water, Jon seemed to breathe a little easier and relax a bit. Vinny stood up and handed the glass back to Robert. In the dim light he could still see that Robert had a curious and worried look on his face. Vinny spoke to reassure him. "Thanks for bringing the water. I'm sure he'll be fine. There's no need for all of us to be zombies tomorrow. You should go get some sleep."  
  
"Well, call me if you need anything." He couldn't help but wonder what had happened, but he understood what Vinny was telling him. Robert, taking his cue not to ask too many questions, went back to his room.  
  
When Vinny turned back around, he saw Jon sitting there with his head in his hands. He sat down next to Jon and saw that Jon was still trembling. He put an arm around his friend's shoulders, trying to comfort him.  
  
"Hey buddy, it was just a dream. You're here with me," Vinny said softly, reassuringly. "You sure have one hell of an active imagination for you to scare yourself like that."  
  
Jon didn't say anything; he wasn't even paying attention to what Vinny was saying. The sound of his voice was soothing to his jangled nerves though, and he was thankful for it. Exhausted and shaken, he leaned his head on his friend's shoulder and closed his eyes, willing the remnants of the nightmare away.  
  
Vinny sat there with his arm around Jon and spoke quietly to him until the shaking stopped. After a while Jon's breathing became shallow and he thought Jon had fallen into a deep sleep. As gently as he could, he extricated himself from Jon and stretched him out on the floor, hoping he wouldn't wake up again. He covered Jon up with the comforter he'd found in a heap on the other side of the bed, then went back to his spot on the floor and surprised himself by falling asleep almost immediately.  
  
Jonathan opened his eyes to the clear morning sunlight. He lay there for a moment, wondering why he felt sore. And why he was on the floor. He recalled Vinny telling him he fell out of bed, and all of a sudden last night's events came rushing back to him. He covered his eyes with one hand and sighed, wondering when the nightmares would ever stop.  
  
"How you feeling?" He turned his head to see Vinny sitting in a chair by the door, gazing down at him.  
  
He didn't attempt to answer him until he sat up. Although he was stiff and sore from sleeping in the same position for such a long time, not to mention the fall, he was surprised at how rested he actually felt - he hadn't felt this rested in months.  
  
"Ok." he said, his throat berating him for abusing it so. Why the hell did it hurt?  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"Almost nine."  
  
When Vinny answered his question as to what time it was, he was shocked. He had always been a morning person and he hadn't slept that late in years - in fact, even when he was recovering from his concussion a month earlier, he was still up by 6am each morning. Suddenly he realized what Vinny had said.  
  
"What are you still doing here, you're late for work."  
  
"I meant to go in. I left here around six and went home to take a shower and check my answering machine. There was an urgent sounding message from Alec for Robert from 3:30 this morning, asking to be met at the usual place ASAP - he said he'd be there waiting. I called work and left a message telling them I wasn't coming in today, then came back here to wake Rob up and give him the message. He took off over an hour ago for the warehouse, so now I'm just hanging around waiting to see what was up."  
  
Jon took this news in and a small twinkle appeared in his eyes as he started to ask in a hopeful tone of voice, "You don't think...".  
  
Vinny didn't even let him finish his sentence, "...he got the evidence from the files? I don't want to jump to conclusions, but there was something in the way Alec spoke in that message... besides, with it being so close to the deadline, what else could be that urgent?"  
  
Vinny got up from the chair, offering Jon a hand up from the floor. "I don't know about you but I need some coffee. I got bagels earlier, so why don't you go take a shower then come down for breakfast?"  
  
Since all they could do was wait for Rob to return, Jon gladly climbed into the shower. Although the pounding water felt great massaging his stiff neck, he couldn't stand the cold water for long. After months of taking cold showers, Jon longed for a nice long, hot, relaxing shower... that and a massage.  
  
Not long after this, Jon padded down the stairs and joined Vinny at a table, sticking his head in the bag of bagels trying to find one for himself. Vinny set a cup of coffee down at his elbow and he sipped the hot liquid thankfully. He'd spent the last few minutes trying to think of a way to thank Vinny for staying with him last night, but he wasn't sure how to say it.  
  
Jon looked up to Vinny, who was busying himself with cutting his own bagel. He was as intent on his task as Jon had been in selecting one, and it was obvious they were both avoiding talking about what had happened. Jon knew Vinny would never bring the subject up for fear of upsetting him, but he had to thank him somehow.  
  
"About last night, Vin -" He stopped as Vinny looked up and met his gaze. There seemed to be nothing much he could say, so he opted for the simple. "Thanks for being there for me."  
  
Vinny grinned at him, making the entire situation easier. "Someone had to break your fall. From now on, I get the bed and you sleep on the floor, since you seem to end up there anyway."  
  
"How do I know the whole thing wasn't some intricate plot to get the bed for yourself?" Jon said in a mock suspicious tone.  
  
"You'll never know for sure, will you?"  
  
*********  
  
He hurried to meet Alec, as the message he'd received seemed urgent. When Robert entered the warehouse, the first thing he noticed was how tired Alec looked. The slumped posture and dark circles he carried under his eyes told Robert everything he needed to know about how hard Alec had been working to help him. Underneath the exhaustion, however, was an excitement that could not be hidden. Robert walked up to his friend, an unsure smile on his face.  
  
"Alec? Is that what I think it is?"  
  
Alec nodded, a tired, proud smile on his face. "It's all here, Rob. Everything I could find. I printed a bunch of sets on letterhead for you." He handed him an oversized envelope that bulged with papers.  
  
Robert stood with it in his hands not opening the envelope, as if it was a sacred thing and to stop and look at it now would be an offense to the gods. He looked up at his friend and said haltingly, "Alec. I don't know how to thank you for this."  
  
"Don't. It's the least I could do for all you've done for me." The open expression of gratitude and affection on Robert's face made a lump come to his throat, and Alec covered it up by being brusque. "Go on, get out of here. You've got things to do." Robert nodded wordlessly and turned to leave. He hadn't gotten more than ten feet toward the door before Colonel Hyde stepped out of the shadows to stop him. He walked toward Robert menacingly, keeping the gun trained on him the entire time. "I'll be taking that," he said, holding his hand out to take the package Robert carried. Almost immediately, before Robert had a chance to decide what he was going to do, he heard a voice behind him.  
  
"I think he'll be leaving with it," Alec said, his voice icy. Robert glanced back at his friend only to see him covering Hyde with his gun. Had he always carried that to their meetings, Robert wondered, or did he have reason to suspect that something was going to happen today? Trapped between them, he had no option other than to stay exactly where he was.  
  
Hyde paid him little mind, barely glancing at him. His disregard for the threat he posed spoke volumes. "You have no say as to what goes on here, Vanish. You're in even more trouble than he is, if that's even possible. Hand it over, Kilroy."  
  
"Don't give him anything, Robert," Alec said, slowly walking forward to come closer to them.  
  
Hyde seemed to really pay attention to him with this comment. He spoke mockingly. "Robert, is it? I see you two are old friends now."  
  
"Very old friends," Alec responded, emphasizing each word. "You did a good job of trying to bury my past, Hyde, but it wasn't good enough."  
  
Hyde sighed heavily, theatrically. "I knew it. I told Righteous your conditioning wouldn't stick but he wouldn't listen to me. It amused him too much to have you working for him; it was his blind spot. Why he trusted you so much is beyond me. Now he'll see that I was right all along." Hyde took a few quick steps forward until the barrel of his gun was pushed against Robert's temple.  
  
Robert gritted his teeth, refusing to flinch, as he knew Hyde would use whatever he could against his friend. He wouldn't give him the pleasure of being able to use his fear as ammunition against Alec. Robert tried to appear calm, displaying his confidence in Alec.  
  
Alec kept walking steadily toward them until he was no more than an arms length away. "You can't win, Hyde. You shoot him, I shoot you and then I walk out of here with those papers. Let him go, this is between the two of us."  
  
Hyde sneered at him in derision. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? You've been looking for an excuse to kill me for a long time."  
  
The cold humorless laugh that Alec gave sent chills down Robert's spine. He had never heard him like that before. Alec's laugh died down into a quiet chuckle. "Oh, Hyde. like I'd need an excuse to shoot you. I'd consider it a public service. Maybe I'll shoot you right now before you get a chance to pull the trigger on him."  
  
"Go ahead," Hyde taunted. The giddiness he felt at finally nailing his quarry loosened his tongue. "Just try it." When Alec made no response, he continued, his voice mocking. "You don't have the balls to hurt me, you're just a spineless worm. I tortured you, stripped away every shred of dignity you possessed, and the next month you were out picking up my dry cleaning for me. When I get done with you this time, you'll be cleaning my shoes with your tongue and thanking me for the opportunity to do it."  
  
Alec's heart raced at the thought of going through that again. He had no thought of his friend standing before him, his life in Alec's hands, he could only focus on Hyde. The pain and humiliation he suffered at his hands was something he would never forget. Alec's dreams suddenly made perfect sense. He was not afraid of failing Righteous and being tortured for that failure, he was reliving what had actually happened. And only a few feet from him stood the man responsible for all of his torment.  
  
All Hyde saw was Vanish standing there, a death grip on the handgun he held  
  
solidly pointed at him, seeming to be frozen in place. He smiled coldly, knowing that he was right. The man had no backbone other than the one he gave him. and that which he gave could also be taken away. "Drop the gun Vanish, you know you're not going to shoot me."  
  
Robert didn't dare turn his head to look at Alec so he never saw the change come over his face. He didn't see Alec's brown eyes, once soft and friendly, now turned hard and sharp as flint. He didn't see the look of pure hatred on his face. He didn't see the decision come to him to pull the trigger, he only felt the gun Hyde held to his head jerk away as he fell to the floor.  
  
Robert looked down in shock, watched the blood spread from the wound in Hyde's right shoulder. Hyde clutched his shoulder with his left hand, cursing at Alec, his gun useless on the ground next to him. He moved toward his gun, but didn't get very far.  
  
"Touch it and die, " Alec said menacingly. Hyde looked up at him from the floor and for once believed him. He stayed where he was, the threat of Alec and his gun keeping him from moving.  
  
Only once he had taken in what Alec had done did Robert look up at his friend, and the change in him frightened him more than the gun held to his head ever did. For his part, Alec could not meet his friends gaze. He knew it would only be filled with surprise and most probably other emotions he never wished Robert to feel about him. He could not address that problem right now, he had to deal with Hyde, and he had to do so by himself.  
  
"Get out of here, Robert. Go!" he yelled when Rob stayed, staring at Hyde writhing on the floor in pain. Robert pushed himself into action and fled the scene, not stopping to look back until he reached the door. He turned to see Alec crouching down next to Hyde making sure to stay just out of his reach, saying something he could not make out from there. Robert clutched the packet to him tightly as he ran into the impossibly brilliant morning sunlight.  
  
When Robert finally walked into the bar hours later, two visibly tense men greeted him. No one spoke as he walked across the bar and handed the packet to Jonathan.  
  
"I haven't looked at it yet. Let's see what we've got."  
  
Carefully, as if it were a priceless antique, Jonathan opened the envelope and spread the contents across the long wooden bar. Together, the three of them skimmed the documents, and gradually they made comments to each other.  
  
"Robert, here - an order to MMM security. He describes in detail how they should make the murder look like you committed it!" Jonathan said.  
  
Vinny picked up one of the documents and held it disbelievingly. "In this one he describes how the guards should block the audience from witnessing the assassination. What kind of a man would write all this stuff down?"  
  
"Someone very, very sure of themselves, Vinny." Jonathan said, his voice filled with cold pleasure at his chance for revenge. Your pride is your downfall Righteous, he thought. Continuously underestimating me, aren't you? After tomorrow you'll never make that mistake again.  
  
"Jon." He looked up when Robert called his name. He took the paper he offered and read it slowly. When he made no comment, Vinny moved so that he could read over his shoulder. He read it again, soaking up the words like a desert cactus does the water that provides it with life-giving moisture.  
  
"I knew it," Vinny said in his ear, barely audible even though he was right next to him. "Jon, I knew Alec would come through for you."  
  
Robert spoke again, his voice filled with wonder and pleasure as he leafed through some of the other documents. "There's more here Jon, everything about the bombing. It's all here."  
  
Without comment, Jonathan searched for and found a piece of paper. He quickly wrote a note to Congressman Wylie, and gathered up a set of information to go along with it. Thankfully, Alec had enough foresight deliver to them several sets of the papers, so Jon could send one immediately to Wylie.  
  
"You know where his office is?" Jon asked as he handed the papers to Vinny. He took them with a smile.  
  
"Got the address memorized."  
  
***********  
  
He stared at the documents in his hands, almost not believing that he actually was holding them. It was all here, just like the young man said it would be. If even a quarter of what was contained here was true, it was enough to put Righteous behind bars for years.  
  
But this idea of theirs seemed insane. To appear in the middle of tomorrow's memorial service for the victims of the MMM Headquarters bombing seemed like suicide. And for him to appear with them, in public, voicing his distrust of Righteous. was he ready to make a irrevocable move like that? The thought of it so alarmed him that he leaned over to toss the entire thing into the garbage when he caught a glimpse of the handwritten note Jonathan Chance had attached to it.  
  
He recalled the man he met in his limo, how earnest and passionate he was. Wylie could recall a time when he himself had such passionate feelings about things; it was this enthusiasm that called him into politics in the first place. The years of compromises and negotiations had ground the motivation out of him until he was left as a glorified paper pusher who was concerned only with his opinion poll ratings. He was now faced with someone who could have been himself 20 years ago asking for his help. He promised that man he would think about it, and here he was jumping at shadows. He owed Chance more consideration than this.  
  
Wylie plopped the papers on his desk and paced his office, attempting to see it from their point of view. The only chance they had to clear their names was to meet this thing head on and confront Righteous. They had to do so in public where he could not brush them off and Righteous had no choice but to let them be heard. What better place to confront Righteous than at the memorial service they were holding tomorrow in honor of the victims of the bomb blast? The place would be crawling with press and it was to be televised nationwide. It would be next to impossible for Righteous to arrest them quietly and shuffle them off to jail without letting them have their say. Appearing before the victim's families in their hour of mourning, when they believed Jonathan Chance was the person responsible for their loved ones deaths, was a huge risk. But a risk he saw that they had to take.  
  
No, what they suggested was probably the only course of action left available to them. He was sure of Chance's innocence in this matter ever since he realized the live confession was somehow faked. The question was what would he do about their  
  
request for help. Chance's actions kept urging him to take that step, to stand up and say what he felt was true, and to hell with what people thought or said. His enthusiasm was infectious and Wylie felt himself inspired and invigorated for the first time in a long while. He sat down to pen a note back to Chance telling him that he would help them, when he suddenly stopped.  
  
He was in the midst of composing his note when he realized what he was doing. What was he thinking, trying to take on someone like Righteous? He was just a congressman, and not a very powerful one at that. What in the world made him think he could strike a blow against someone like Righteous? It was a useless, futile gesture. He cast his eyes about his office hopelessly, wondering how many more years he would spend there pretending to make a difference, when he noticed the framed replica of the Bill of Rights hanging on his wall. He sat there, reading and re- reading the first amendment a few dozen times until the words were emblazoned in his memory. It might be an empty, futile gesture, but he would be there for Robert Kilroy and Jonathan Chance tomorrow. He found that after all this time, those words still meant something to him, and he was sworn to uphold them. He scribbled a confirmation note to Chance and handed it to his secretary to hold for the messenger who said he'd be back at the end of the day for his answer.  
  
He walked back into his office with a slight bounce to his step. He hadn't felt this good in years. Would it really be so horrible if he didn't get re-elected?  
  
***********  
  
Jonathan's eyes drank in the text laid out before him. He hadn't realized how much he had been relying on Wylie's help until just now. A short hand written note that said yes, Wylie would escort them into the memorial service tomorrow morning and  
  
introduce them. He took a big breath and looked up at Vinny, who stood before him with a smile on his face.  
  
"He said yes," Vinny asked, more of a statement than a question, because from Jonathan's expression he already knew the answer.  
  
"Yes he did." Jonathan felt a small piece of the tension ease within him. Now at least he felt that he wasn't going to get dragged away from the building tomorrow the moment he showed his face. He supposed it would take a few minutes more for that to happen, and he was planning on making the best use of that time that he could.  
  
Vinny spoke with a tone of crisp efficiency. He glanced at his watch, he still had a few hours until the mall closed. "Well, we've got a lot to do for tomorrow. I'm going out to buy you two something to wear. I'll be back."  
  
Jon watched him walk out of the room, then turned to the papers in front of him.  
  
"Ok. so Wylie has been provided with a bunch of sets of this." Jon indicated the packet of information. He walked to where Robert sat in front of his almost in tune piano and handed him a set of papers. Jonathan continued, warming up to the task. "I think we should go over this with a fine tooth comb and make sure that there's nothing in here Righteous can use against us." He looked at Robert, who had not even glanced at the papers in front of him. Thinking on it, Jon felt he had been unusually quiet all day, ever since he came back from his meeting with Alec. He didn't even seem excited about finally getting the proof they had been expecting for so long. It was unusual behavior, and certainly not the Robert Kilroy Jonathan was used to. "Hey, is everything ok?" he asked.  
  
Robert looked up at Jonathan. "Sorry, I was just thinking." "About?"  
  
Robert picked up the papers and fidgeted with them nervously. "Alec. I didn't say anything in front of Vinny, but I think you should know. When I met with him this morning, Hyde was waiting there for us."  
  
"Hyde? Righteous' Chief of Security Hyde?"  
  
Robert nodded. Jon took a steadying breath, wondering what problems this new wrinkle would bring. It was a struggle for him not to yell at Robert and rip the story from him, but there was obviously more to this than first met the eye. He allowed Robert to continue at his own pace.  
  
"I suppose Alec had some idea he would be there because he was ready for him," Robert finally said. "Hyde pulled a gun and tried to arrest us, but Alec had his gun out, like he was expecting it."  
  
"Did something happen to Alec?" Jon asked worriedly. Robert smiled faintly at his concern, wondering where along the line Jon had changed his mind and decided to trust him.  
  
"No, he's fine - physically, at least. He actually was the one doing the shooting; he nailed Hyde in the shoulder."  
  
Jon spoke hesitantly, not believing that what he was asking could be true, but still needing to know. "He didn't kill Hyde, did he?"  
  
"No, he was alive when I left - in pain, but alive. Alec's not a killer, he wouldn't hurt a fly. But that's what's bothering me, Jon. His reaction to Hyde was so severe. there was something going on between the two of them that went way deeper than the fact that Alec broke the law. Those two have history. and you can tell it's not a very happy one. He changed when Hyde came into the room, Jon. I've never seen him like that before. So cold and hard. " Robert trailed off sadly. "I just don't know how he's going to be when this is all over. He's been through so much. And I can't just pick up the phone and make sure everything's ok, I have to wait until he contacts me."  
  
"You've been spending as much time as you can with him, Kilroy. You tell me he's been getting better, and all that progress can't be erased by one bad incident." Jon thought on his relationship with Vinny, and he supposed Kilroy was just as close to Alec. Friendships like that were important, and served to strengthen the people involved. He smiled at Robert reassuringly. "He's lucky to have such a good friend to help him through this. If you can't help him I don't know who can."  
  
Robert knew Jon was trying to make him feel better, and even though it wasn't going to work, he certainly appreciated the effort. He smiled back and asked a question that had been bothering him for a while. "I have to ask you. why do you still call me Kilroy?"  
  
"I don't know. habit I guess."  
  
"Well, my friends call me Rob." A moment of silence lay between them. Thrown together by circumstance, they were two very different people. They'd disagreed at times and had a few knock down drag out arguments, and they'd shared close living conditions for three months. Yet somehow amidst all of this, a friendship had grown. Both men had come to recognize the good in the other, and they knew that each could count on the other. Jon smiled crookedly and nodded.  
  
"I'm sure Alec's ok, Rob."  
  
Robert nodded. "You're probably right Jon. Now," he said, turning away from the piano and changing the subject, "about these papers. You wanted to go over them one more time, right? Let's start with the one about my arrest." They bent to their task, a thicker blanket of companionship covering them as they worked.  
  
***********  
  
This was it, the moment of truth. Robert closed his eyes and put his hands out, feeling the polished keys under his fingers. He had plunked out notes here and there on the old piano to make sure he was tuning it properly, but he hadn't tried to actually play anything on it until now. The job, which might have taken a trained professional with the proper tools a few weeks worth of sessions, had taken him months. But he finally felt like it was done.  
  
He sat before it thinking about the thousands of times before he had sat just like this. He recalled the times he'd been at home, writing songs that had gone on to become multi-platinum sellers. In his mind's eye, he saw the hundreds of cities and dozens of countries he'd performed in, screaming fans hanging on his every note. Somehow, none of that made him any less nervous. If the piano sounded horrible, it would be no great loss. It was only an old upright that had been left behind over half a century ago to decompose into termite food. And no one could blame him for doing a bad job - under the circumstances it would be miraculous if it worked at all, let alone well. But he had spent so much time on this, invested so much of himself in the labor, that it would be a shame if it didn't work. And with the memorial service tomorrow, he needed to play tonight. He had no idea when or if he would ever get the chance again. Taking a deep breath, he gently pressed the keys and was rewarded with a full rich chord. He tried another, and the tonality held. A smile of unreasonable proportions covered his face, and he launched into one of his old favorites. He hit a few sour notes here and there, but after having not played for five years, he didn't think he sounded too bad.  
  
After searching everywhere else, Vinny finally found him on the roof. He'd almost forgotten that they could even get up here, but apparently Jon hadn't. He saw his friend sitting not more than a dozen yards from him with his back against the wall bundled in his jacket, staring up at the stars, his face unreadable in the darkness. Through the door that he had left cracked open, he could hear Robert playing his piano. Vinny smiled for him, knowing how much work he'd put into it. Vinny walked over to Jonathan, the gravel that covered the roof crunching under his feet. Jonathan did not look to see who had come up there, he already knew. Only one person would be looking for him now. Jon had escaped the confining rooms below, looking for someplace he could think undisturbed. He had admitted to Vinny that he'd been having bad dreams two days ago, and in that time Vinny had not left him alone for very long. He wanted to be there to lend moral support and Jonathan appreciated it, but tonight was the last night before the memorial service. He was in a reflective mood and he did his best thinking alone. On his part, Vinny felt that although Jon thought he needed some time alone right now, it would be better if he were not. "Want some company?"  
  
When Jon did not respond, he sat anyway, trying to find some comfort on the  
  
pebbly rooftop. Vinny said nothing, just trying to provide the companionship Jon needed tonight.  
  
"So. Robert finally finished that thing, huh?" Jon said, attempting to make some conversation that would keep them from discussing tomorrow.  
  
"Looks that way. Sounds pretty good for an old piece of junk," Vinny said.  
  
"Don't call it that in front of him," Jonathan warned, half-serious. "He loves that piano."  
  
There was a long moment of silence between them, filled only with Robert's music. He started one song then suddenly jumped to another, as if he could not contain himself long enough to finish one out. Vinny was glad he could find something to occupy him this night and not sit around like he and Jon were, attempting to avoid the subject on everyone's mind.  
  
"I miss her, Vin," Jon said abruptly.  
  
Jon had jumped topics, and Vinny wasn't following. "Who?"  
  
Jonathan gestured to a small, worn photograph he held. Even in the darkness Vinny knew what it was, for Jon had carried that photo in his wallet for a long time. It was taken one summer afternoon on Navy Pier in front of the Ferris wheel, both of them smiling in the sunlight and holding each other tight. Jonathan added unnecessarily, "Samantha. I miss her."  
  
"Oh." Vinny paused thoughtfully. "I sort of thought you were angry at her."  
  
"I was." Jonathan was fixated on one particular star that was struggling to make its light seen so many millions of miles away. Perhaps if he stared at it hard enough, it would become brighter. "She didn't stand by me when I needed her. She couldn't handle the truth about who I was, and I thought that it was all because of some weakness in her. I thought, what's wrong with her that she can't do this for me?"  
  
He sighed heavily, absentmindedly fiddling with the photo he still held. "But it was my fault as much as it was hers. I mean, I just dropped this whole thing in her lap, how could I expect her to accept it all right then and there? I kept her in the dark for so long that she felt like I didn't trust her. and I didn't, not really. I told myself it was for her own good, that I didn't want to drag her into this, and it is true that I really didn't want to put her in danger. But it was as much for security reasons as anything else. In all honesty, I wasn't sure if I let her in that she wouldn't turn around and decide we were just plain wrong and had to be stopped. I judged her before she even got to speak a word in her own defense, before she even knew that she had to defend herself. I wasn't fair to her; she deserved better than that. It wasn't just her fault, and it wasn't just mine, it was both of us. In the end our love just wasn't strong enough to survive this."  
  
"You two seemed so good together."  
  
"We were, when things were ok. When it started to get hard, when sacrifices had to be made. it just wasn't enough. I needed someone in my life to give me comfort when I was tired, to take my mind off of everything going on. I needed that so badly that I ignored the simple fact that we really didn't love each other, we were just using each other as shelter from the storms of the outside world."  
  
"You were together for so long." Vinny's voice was bitter, testing the remains of his belief in mankind's ability to love one another. He sometimes thought that no one loved each other in this world, they just used one another until it was no longer profitable, then parted ways. A large part of him would rather have gone on thinking that the two of them were in love and Samantha betrayed his friend, than know that it just fell apart under its own weight. Before it had passion, feeling. now it was just another in a series of failed experiments in human kindness.  
  
"It's amazing how long you can fool yourself when you really want to ignore the truth, Vin. Hey," Jon said when he saw the downcast look on his friend's face, "it's ok, really. I guess I'm just sad thinking about all the time I wasted being angry with her when it wasn't her fault. I want to be able to tell her that someday," Jon added, feeling the strain of his fugitive status more heavily than ever. He shook off the feeling of dread creeping up on him and continued. His friend didn't need to hear about his insecurities right now, he needed reassurance.  
  
"Vinny, we tried our best. We gave it everything we had but sometimes things just aren't meant to be. But that doesn't mean I'll never find someone I can have that kind of relationship with. Don't you give up on love; I know I haven't."  
  
Looking at his friend in the darkness, with only the streetlights below to light his face, Vinny still could see the optimistic look on Jon's face. Earlier, Vinny might have thought his friend had given up, but Jonathan was anything but defeated. Seeing this, Vinny felt a surge of hope and pride fill him. Where earlier there were ashes, now a small sprout of faith was poking its head out in defiance. If Jonathan could be hopeful for the future, so could he. Vinny spoke hesitantly, unaccustomed to saying such things aloud, but tonight was not the time to hesitate. There might very possibly not be another chance to say these sorts of things.  
  
"Listen... I know it's not the same thing. but I'm here for you. No matter what happens, I'll stand by you. Not just because I happen to think what you're doing is right, but because you're my friend and I love you."  
  
Jonathan met his gaze steadily, and he was glad for the darkness so that Vinny couldn't see the tears threatening to well up into his eyes. "I don't know what I would've done all these months without your help, Vin. It all would've been over a long time ago without you." Vinny attempted to shrug off his praise, but Jonathan continued. "You've had to shoulder all the hard work lately, just keeping things going. I know I never really thanked you for it before, but I'm thanking you now. I couldn't ask for a better partner or a better friend than you."  
  
"You just make sure all my hard work wasn't for nothing then, ok?"  
  
"I'll certainly try." 


	12. Tonights the night we'll make history

Tonight's the night we'll make history.  
  
Vinny waited on the bus station platform, arms folded across his chest. It came as no surprise to him when Hope came around the corner leading half a dozen MMM guards, all heavily armed. He wished he had a camera to capture the priceless expression of outrage and embarrassment Hope would be wearing when she saw only himself standing there.  
  
Hope looked around for the two fugitives, but all she saw was Vinny standing there, looking very smug. She stood, confused, until it came to her in a flash of insight, and she stared at him in amazement. "How long have you known?"  
  
"Long enough." Pride and defiance were in his voice. He felt liberated, finally being able to confront her with her treachery. He wanted her to know she had not fooled him for long. He also wanted her to believe that she had not touched his heart, but he wasn't sure that he could hide his true feeling of grief at what she'd done to him for very long. If he stayed angry with her, he could mask his true feelings. for a while. She considered him curiously, and then decided he was telling the truth. "They're nowhere near here, are they?"  
  
He spoke, relishing every moment of her discomfort. "Not even close."  
  
Hope circled him slowly as she regarded him, looking him over with new eyes. "You know, I wouldn't have bet you were smart enough to figure me out." Her voice sounded alien to him, cold and calculating. So, this is what she really sounds like, he thought. He answered her, the anger and hate he felt at what she had done to him filling his voice.  
  
"You'll find I'm just full of surprises."  
  
"Where are they?" When he did not respond, she leaned in close to him and prodded him to tell her the truth. "If you don't tell me, I'll have you hauled in and questioned. Believe me, you wouldn't like to be questioned."  
  
Vinny wasn't so easily intimidated. He looked her directly in the eye and spoke with contempt. "Please. You're going to arrest me anyway, so why don't you just get on with it." She spun away from him, angry that her plans had been so easily thwarted. She motioned to the guards, two of which moved forward to handcuff Vinny. His eyes never left her, and when she turned toward him again he asked her one last question he had to know the answer to.  
  
"Did you ever care about me, even a little bit?"  
  
She walked over to him, shaking her head in pity. She cupped his face in one hand. "Vinny. you're so naive. No, I didn't love you, or even like you. You were my assignment, nothing more. It was strictly business, you can understand that, right?" She smiled at him coldly. "No hard feelings, huh?"  
  
He pulled away from her touch as if it burned him. "Sorry. I won't soothe your conscience for you. You're going to have to live with the memory of what you've done." As the guards pulled him away, he believed he saw a touch of surprise on her face, as if she didn't believe he had such anger in him. Vinny congratulated himself on keeping her guessing about him until the very last as he was escorted into the waiting police car.  
  
***********  
  
"I think it's time," Robert said glancing at the watch Vinny had lent him. He and Jonathan stood a block away from the building where Righteous was even now starting the memorial service for the fallen MMM workers. Between the instructions Wylie had provided and Vinny's efforts with Hope, they had been able to avoid being spotted by any MMM guards. They were now waiting to use the back entrance Wylie had indicated would be unmonitored except by his people. Robert looked at Jonathan and was struck by how calm and self-confident he appeared. For the first time in a long time, he looked at Jonathan as a stranger might, trying to see him as he would appear to those in the room they were about to enter. He certainly looked wonderful - the hour long session with Vinny trying to find something for both of them to wear had paid off. The charcoal gray double-breasted suit Jon wore fit him impeccably, and the collarless royal blue shirt set off his deep green eyes nicely. Although it was not a uniform, it was reminiscent of one and that was the effect they were aiming for. Even the faint trace of a scar he had over his right eye, a souvenir from his bicycle accident, made him seem more like a battle-scarred hero than a hardened criminal.  
  
He knew that he also looked his best. He could not carry off the more modern cut of suit that Jonathan could, but the navy blue one Vinny had chosen paired with a cream color shirt worked well on him. He smiled faintly at the memory of the fuss Vinny had made about that shirt - he had complained when Vinny came back with it. He had wanted to wear plain white but Vinny said it was too severe, and he was trying to make him look as non-threatening as possible. It had been a long time since he'd worn clothes like this. In fact the last time he'd worn a suit was to court, when he was sentenced to life in prison for that murder he did not commit. Jonathan's voice cut through his reverie and he was glad to leave such thoughts behind.  
  
"Yeah, we'd better get going," Jonathan said, filling his voice with confidence he did not feel. The anxiety that had gripped him in the last few days was securely clamped down deep within him, but it was lurking there still. He knew that from the outside he appeared relaxed, but right now his stomach was doing flip-flops. He had no idea what to expect when they walked into that room, except that it would be chaos. Better to get this over with now, the waiting was killing him. Robert nodded, and they both walked the last block to the back entrance where they were told that Wylie's aide would be waiting.  
  
A small nervous looking young woman stood in the doorway, holding it open while standing inside. She was looking in various directions, no doubt imagining MMM troops lying in wait for them. When she spotted them, her expression of anxiety did not change; if anything it got worse. She ushered them in without a word and led the way toward the meeting. Jonathan and Robert followed without comment. At this point, there were no questions left to ask and nothing more to discuss.  
  
Congressman Wylie was waiting in the hallway for them, and they could hear the murmur of a large gathering of people from somewhere close by. Wylie nodded his hello and escorted them the rest of the way, also without comment. He threw open the large double doors and lead the way up the center aisle of the room towards the dais without stopping or slowing down, Jonathan and Robert following side by side in his wake. The way Wylie had burst into the room guaranteed that people would turn to look, and that they did. A wave of gasps, followed by louder outbursts of surprise and anger moved through the crowd in a wave, and they had barely reached the center of the room when Righteous noticed the disturbance and looked to see what was happening. The look of shock and surprise on Righteous' face was enough to put a small smile on Robert's face despite the situation. He saw Righteous look from him to Jonathan. and there his eyes stopped.  
  
From the moment Jonathan entered the room, he tried to scan the crowd and gauge their reactions. He looked up to see Righteous boring a hole in him with his eyes from across the room. The butterflies in his stomach seemed to disappear, most likely squashed to death under the lead weight that had settled there. He suddenly realized that neither of them had seen each other before this moment. Sure, they'd seen photos and such, but they'd never met in person. He met Righteous' gaze steadily, refusing to be intimidated by him. He was much taller than Jonathan had thought, much taller than Jonathan himself was. He carried himself surely, for he knew how to play a crowd. Righteous knew that this was his territory, and his show. His personal security force surrounded him and he was in charge. He could order them dragged away before they even had a chance to walk ten feet further, and they would spend the rest of their lives buried away in some deep dungeon where no one would ever hear from them again.  
  
All of this Righteous wordlessly communicated to Jonathan, his icy blue eyes glaring contempt and threats at him across the room. For all that, Jonathan raised his chin a little higher and held himself that much taller as he walked forward to meet him. During all this Wylie was sweeping them forward, responding to the yelled questions and curses from the crowd with a promise of answers. All of the cameras swiveled away from the platform where Righteous stood to follow their progress, and reporters from every form of media pressed towards them yelling questions and thrusting microphones and tape recorders toward them to catch any answers they might offer. The MMM honor guards stood at the ready, waiting only for some indication of what Righteous wanted them to do. Righteous thought briefly of arresting them now and having them removed, then tossed the idea aside. The press would insist on hearing what they had to say, they were quite irritating in that respect. He decided to let this play out - he had no idea what they had planned this time, and as this was being broadcast live, he could not afford to let them unleash whatever scheme they had without him there to perform damage control.  
  
Wylie reached the dais and stepped up, noting but not responding to the threatening look Righteous shot him. He'd started on this path and there was nothing for it but to continue. "Ladies and gentleman, please," he urged the crowd to relative silence so that he could be heard. "As you have seen, I bring before you Robert Kilroy and Jonathan Chance. You know well the crimes these two men have been charged with, and that is what they would like to talk to you about. They would like to argue their case in court like any other American, but they fear that they would not receive a fair trial, and for good reason. Dr. Everett Righteous, leader of the Majority for Musical Morality, has used his power and influence to frame both of these men, making them appear to commit the crimes with which they have been charged. That, however, is far from the truth of the matter."  
  
The crowd's excitement bubbled over again at this statement and it took a moment more of his urging to quiet them down. Just as they settled back down Righteous began to speak.  
  
"This is preposterous, I never-"  
  
"Please, ladies and gentlemen, hear them out," Wylie urged as he cut Righteous off. Once Righteous started talking to the crowd it would be a struggle to get them back, so he didn't allow the interruption. "Let them tell you the tale of how Righteous used his position to brand them as criminals, to get them out of the picture so that he could rewrite the Constitution unopposed. I know this is highly unusual, but we are living in some highly unusual times. Please, hear them out." Wylie turned to Jonathan, who immediately stepped forward.  
  
"Thank you, Congressman. Before I begin, I'd like to express my deepest sympathies to all those who lost loved ones in the explosion." Behind him, Righteous made a barely audible snicker of contempt at his comments. Jonathan knew he was being baited and he ignored it.  
  
"I understand the pain of your loss, and your desire to see justice carried out. I raise my voice with yours calling for the person responsible to be held accountable for his crimes. But that person is not I. The telephone call you heard over and over again on television, purporting to be me claiming responsibility for the bombing, was a fake." "Dr Righteous," Jonathan said, turning toward him and acknowledging him for the first time. Righteous smiled slightly and appeared calm and collected, all except for the tightness around his mouth. Jonathan doubted anyone else could see the small sign of stress, but he could. The knowledge that he made Righteous nervous pleased him, and a portion of his tension ebbed away. "Exactly when was that confession called into your offices?"  
  
Righteous responded immediately without missing a beat or consulting any papers. "Wednesday November 18, 7:34 p.m."  
  
Jonathan, having gotten what he needed from Righteous, immediately dismissed him. He braced himself mentally, for he hadn't had the opportunity to discuss this next part with Wylie. He was praying that Wylie would understand what Jon was referring to when he asked his next question. "Congressman, do you know where I was at that time?"  
  
Wylie hesitated for a moment, not seeing what Jonathan was looking for. He thought back to the moment he heard about the bombing and suddenly it clicked. When he spoke it was with confidence, for which Jonathan was thankful. "With me, discussing how Righteous framed Kilroy five years ago for a crime he didn't commit."  
  
"Exactly why would I care to frame some musician for a crime? Of what use would that be?" Righteous asked, his voice calm and reasoning, yet still conveying the contempt he had for Robert.  
  
Anger flared up in Jonathan but he smothered it. Now was not the time to lose his temper. Once again he refused to address Righteous directly, instead talking to the reporters and family members of victims gathered there. At first he strove for the same cool and rational tone Righteous used in these situations, but that soon evaporated. It just didn't feel right to him, and right now he was operating purely on gut instinct. As he spoke the emotions gathered in his voice, the passion he felt clear as day to all those listening. This was it; there were no second chances. He got one shot at making these people see the man standing just a yard to his right for what he was. He could feel Righteous' gaze as a palpable thing, an imaginary point in between his shoulder blades itching as he could almost feel the steel of the knife Righteous longed to plant there. Every cell of his being screamed at him not to turn his back to this man, as deep inside Jonathan was not sure of what he was capable of even in such a public forum. But turn away he did, with an effort, to answer Righteous' question for the crowd.  
  
"The moment the law banning rock and roll was passed Righteous needed to enforce it, and Robert Kilroy happened to be the first example handy to him. Like any politician, his approval ratings soared after he handled the crisis caused by Kilroy breaking his blatantly unconstitutional law. Of course he handled the crisis well, he created it. He orchestrated it and saw it played out exactly as he planned it. Righteous staged the murder of one of his own people to put the final nail in the coffin of rock and roll. The video we aired a few weeks ago showing what happened was the plain, simple truth."  
  
Robert stood listening to Jonathan, fascinated by the picture he was painting even though he knew all of the facts already. He was amazed at how well it worked, for as Jonathan spoke people seemed to stop and really listen to what he was saying, forgetting the arguments that so readily came to them. He dared not interrupt and destroy the flow of the tale Jonathan was weaving.  
  
On his part, Jonathan paused in order to measure the reaction of the people in front of him. They were silent for the moment, hanging on his every word. He continued, his facial expressions, body language and most especially the look in his deep blue eyes speaking volumes to the crowd. It told of a man who was, at the same time, calm and reasonable yet ardent and concerned. It conveyed his earnestness without desperation, urging people to listen to what he had to say and convincing them that he spoke the truth. "As for why Righteous would contrive to blow up his own building, causing such damage and pain to those who believed in him, I can only hazard to guess. His reaction to the airing of that video showed all of you the lengths that this man would go to in order to enforce his will. We dared to speak up and show him for what he is, a man who twists the law to meet his own needs. A man who is so hungry for power and control that anyone standing in his way gets swept aside without a thought, and if some innocent people get hurt in the process, well that's merely the cost of doing business. For having the audacity to try and bring you the truth about him, we were branded as criminals, and worse."  
  
"Years ago he ordered one of his own murdered in cold blood to enforce a law that should never have been passed in the first place. Now when he saw a threat to the security of his position he moved to diffuse that threat, in the same manner as before. I suppose once a person's hands are stained with blood its easier for them to do it the second time around. By perpetrating such a hideous crime and pinning it on me he directed your attention this way, like a magician misdirects his audience so that he can move the lady out of the box before he saws it in half. Don't let him deceive you. Look through that deception to the truth that lies behind."  
  
Wylie saw his chance to help and stepped in at this point. "My aide is passing out two separate packets of information to you right now. These documents are copies of those we obtained directly from MMM files. The first contains internal memos detailing the events leading up to Robert Kilroy's arrest. In these you will find orders issued by Dr. Righteous specifying exactly how MMM security was to create the illusion that Robert Kilroy murdered an MMM supporter on stage. In one, specific attention was paid to exactly how the MMM guards were to deploy themselves on stage to best block the audience from witnessing the assassination. This, in conjunction with the video you have already seen, creates irrefutable evidence that Dr. Righteous engineered this event." "The second packet is full of materials concerning the letter bomb that exploded here last week. Floor plans, requisition forms for materials, even the order to his security chief Col. Hyde to hire an outside agent to perpetrate the crime - it's all there."  
  
Wylie wound down, loathing in his voice. "Righteous' hands couldn't be bloodier if he'd set the bomb off himself."  
  
Jonathan took up where he left off, ending simply. There was not much more to say, and now it was in their hands. "Please, read the contents of this packet. Decide for yourselves whether you believe what Dr. Righteous says in the face of all the evidence against him."  
  
Barely able to control his anger, Righteous grabbed an envelope from Wylie's aide. She flinched away from him, but he did not seem to notice this. Robert watched Righteous closely as he scanned the contents of the package, and he saw the almost unnoticeable flash of desperation cross his face. It was gone as quickly as it came, and thinking on it afterward Robert could not say for sure whether it was really there or that he imagined it. When Righteous looked up from his reading, his handsome face was fixed in a charming half smile. Warning bells went off in Robert's brain; he'd seen that look before.  
  
"These desperate attempts to put the blame for this entire thing on me are heartbreaking," he shook his head sadly, looking on Jonathan and Robert with pity. "This is exactly why I operate the rehabilitation facilities within the jails. You see before you the kind of damage that can occur when listening to rock music. This is an extreme example, I admit, but an example nonetheless."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with listening to rock music," Jonathan said attempting to keep his voice calm. Let Righteous grab the crowd and he was lost. "Saying that it causes people to do evil things is as ridiculous as saying reading 'Romeo and Juliet' would cause someone to commit suicide."  
  
"Yes, I believe that it might," Righteous answered in perfect seriousness. He looked out at the crowd, searching for the families of victims. He met their eyes with concern. "Someone has to protect the youth of our country from the messages found in these stories. No one should be allowed to submit your children to their depraved messages under the guise of freedom of speech. In this modern world, busy parents need all the help that they can get, and all I try and do is offer guidance."  
  
For the first time Robert spoke. He was tired of Righteous' half-truths and deceptions, and he felt very strongly on this particular subject. "I believe it was Voltaire who said, 'I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it'. Our founding fathers thought freedom of speech so important that they made it the very first amendment. Restricting people's ability to listen to what music they wish is just the first step in taking away that freedom. Next you'll say we can't watch certain television shows, or read certain books. Then you'll say we can't think certain thoughts, or vote for the person we think will best represent our interests in Washington. Our entire system of government is based on the individual's freedom to do, say, and think what they choose and you've taken that away. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."  
  
Dr. Righteous spread his arms wide in a gesture of submission. The look on his face was one of confusion, as if what Robert said made no sense to him. "Ashamed? If caring for the youth of America is a crime, let me be arrested. If concern over the moral decline of this country is wrong, I apologize for making such a horrible mistake. I only have your best interests in mind, my friends. I care about the people of this nation and I strive every single day to work toward making this a better place for all of us to live. If I have ever done anything to harm another living soul, let me be lead to the jailhouse right now."  
  
With a thump he threw the packet of information to the ground. "These documents are fakes, falsified to back up the lies of two desperate men attempting to elude the punishment their actions have earned."  
  
During Righteous' speech, Robert's eyes met Jonathan's in concern. He could see Jon's mind racing for a retort to the candy-coated lies Righteous was serving up. Hoping that his speech wasn't working, Robert looked out at the audience and his heart sank. It seemed it was working all too well. People everywhere were nodding in agreement, talking to each other in low tones, praising the efforts of Righteous and his role in keeping them safe from outside forces determined to undermine the morals they stand for. Robert could hardly believe what he was seeing. He felt like screaming, can't you see what he's doing? Are you all so blinded by his lies that a few words from him can erase all the evidence we present? As he scanned the crowd for even one friendly face, he spied Alec standing in the doorway barely inside the room, as if he didn't wish to be there at all. Biting back the dozen questions and concerns he was yearning to voice to his friend, Robert merely watched him, trying to communicate silently all he was feeling.  
  
He met Robert's gaze reluctantly, and with trepidation. Alec worked and searched for months to find the documents he wanted. He was bone tired and his emotions were in turmoil, and now Robert was asking him for more. Alec leaned against the door jam wearily. When Robert left with those documents, Alec had made sure that Hyde knew the depth of his hatred for him. Alec had found some rope, tied him up so that he could not follow, and abandoned him there. For all he knew Hyde was still there, slowly bleeding to death on the dirty warehouse floor. He got home and rapidly stuffed clothing haphazardly into a duffel bag, fearing he might have to leave town quickly after what had happened with Hyde. He spent the entire day yesterday alternating between sleeping fitfully and pacing his apartment, waiting for the front door to burst open and the MMM to drag him off for what he'd done. It took every ounce of courage he had to come down here today, but Alec felt he had to see this through to the end.  
  
He let his gaze drift across to Righteous, the man who for as long as he could remember was his friend, being attacked and accused of such horrific crimes that he could never erase the picture of them from his mind. This man gave him more than just a job, he gave him a reason to get up and face the day every morning.  
  
Righteous was the family he never had. but that wasn't really true, was it?  
  
Righteous wasn't his friend, and the phrase 'for as long as he could remember' was a cruel joke when seen in the light of the intense brainwashing Alec had suffered at his command. Alec had family, and Righteous had cut him off from them without a second thought. He had destroyed his life and replaced it with a flimsy lie, all for his own amusement. There could be no other reason for it other than that - it amused him to make one of Robert's friends' work to destroy what he believed in. And there he was; spinning his web of lies to entangle the American public yet again. and next to him was his friend Robert silently pleading with him for aid. He wanted to help, but didn't Robert understand how hard this was for him, how foreign the idea of opposing Righteous still was? And to say something here, in front of all those cameras. There was just no turning back from something like that. As he stared at his friend from across the room, he realized that yes, Robert did understand his confusion and pain. He did know that the thought of confronting Righteous filled him with such fear that it threatened to paralyze him, and Robert wished it could be otherwise. But the lies came easily to Righteous, and the people were more than happy to go on believing them. Much easier to do that then to admit that you had been duped all of these years, that you had handed over your future to a power hungry dictator that would do whatever was necessary to get his way, even if that meant murder. So now his friend needed his help one last time, and right now. After all, he had come down here for a reason. When the packet of papers hit the floor with a thump, he jumped as if it were a gunshot. Alec spoke, his voice audible to only a few people around him. Those who heard what he said turned to stare in shock, and that alone was enough to make the desire to turn and run from the room almost too much to bear. But he clenched his hands into fists, strangling his fear, and repeated what he said louder so that everyone could hear. "I can verify that the papers are real. I retrieved them myself out of Righteous' personal files." The cameras swung to get a shot of him and reporters shouted out questions to him, but he ignored them. He walked forward, stopping short of actually mounting the stage. Jonathan stared at him wordlessly in surprise. Alec turned to look at Robert, who met him with a gaze full of pride and thanks. Fortified by that, Alec met the cold blue eyes of Righteous himself. He had seen that look, but never before directed at him. Alec was thankful of all the people around him, for he was sure if they were alone, Righteous would not have been able to restrain himself. Alec continued on, his voice getting stronger.  
  
"I first found out about Dr. Righteous' illegal activities a few months ago. I have been working ever since then to find the evidence to expose him, and finally yesterday I was able to succeed. Righteous buried his skeletons well, but not well enough."  
  
By this point Righteous was speechless, the fury plain on his face. First Wylie, now this? They were all turning on him at once, and for some reason Hyde was nowhere to be found during this fiasco of a memorial service.  
  
A voice broke through the crowd's chatter and made itself clearly heard. "What about your confession, Jonathan?" Jon turned to the people before him. They were confused and agitated, but he saw that some of them were willing to hear his answers. He spoke calmly and confidently, every inch a man who had nothing to hide. "I can't quite explain how they were able to do it, but the recording you heard of me confessing responsibility for the bombing was a forgery. I never made that phone call and I never entered the MMM building on the day in question. Ask yourselves this - why, if I had committed this crime, have they never aired the security camera tapes showing me entering the building? Because they don't exist. I was never there. Other than this supposed confession, they have no proof that I was the one responsible for this crime. On the other hand, we do have proof that Righteous planned and executed the entire thing."  
  
"The damage from the blast destroyed the security cameras," Righteous put in, desperate to repair the damage done. Alec merely shook his head in disappointment, as if he'd thought Righteous could do better than that. He walked up to the nearest news crew and handed them an unlabeled VHS tape. This, finally, was the thing that made him decide to come there, to deliver this.  
  
"The tapes are logged in a room on the other side of the building, far from where the blast occurred. The cameras in the mailroom were destroyed, yes, but the master tape is intact. I have a copy of it right here," and Alec gestured to the tape, now in the hands of a startled reporter. "You won't find Jonathan Chance anywhere on it. At no time was he ever in the building. It was impossible for him to have done it." At this, the underlying tension in the crowd burst open. Camera crews lunged forward to get as close to the people on the platform as possible, with the reporters yelling questions in unison. Family members of those killed in the blast stood and demanded that any and all of the people upon the dais be immediately arrested. Some burst into tears, the emotions of the afternoon too much to handle. In the center of the vortex stood Robert, Righteous, Jonathan and Alec. For a moment everyone simply stared at each other, then Righteous broke the silence among them. He had a look on his face of stark hatred. No longer playing to the cameras, realizing that the day was lost, he let his emotions surface. He turned to Robert first.  
  
"Why couldn't you just fade away quietly, or die in there like so many others? And you," here he turned toward Jonathan, "if it weren't for you, that bombing would never have happened. But you had to push, didn't you? You just couldn't walk away." He turned to Alec last of all. "Vanish. my right hand man. I ought to have killed you when I had the chance." Throughout this the cameras were running, and his actions broadcast across America. 


	13. I see you've read about me in the papers

I see you read about me in the papers.  
  
Righteous Suspect In MMM Bombing Chicago - A criminal investigation commenced yesterday for charges levied against leader of the MMM, Dr. Everett Righteous. "Allegations as serious as these must be looked into," declared US District Attorney Greg Stone. "We're also re-opening the murder case against Robert Kilroy in light of the new evidence that has surfaced." Kilroy, who was returned to jail to await the results of this investigation, had no comment at the time of press.  
  
Bomb Confession Pegged As Phony Chicago - Voice print analysis of Jonathan Chance, accused of MMM building explosion, does not match that of phone call allegedly from Chance accepting responsibility for bombing, experts say.  
  
Police Blotter Chicago - .and in other local events, police released Vincent Di Benedetto today. Di Benedetto was thought to have collaborated with MMM bombing suspect Jonathan Chance, but was released due to lack of evidence.  
  
Bomber identified, Chance Released Chicago - Further investigation into the November bombing of the MMM headquarters uncovered the individual responsible for the blast, which left 39 dead. FBI experts examining security camera tapes of the day in question found that the fingerprints of Reginald McAlister, who appeared on the tape, matched those found on remnants of one of the explosive devices recovered from the wreckage. In the absence of evidence, all charges related to the MMM building explosion levied against Jonathan Chance have been officially dismissed. The state has also dropped the charge of accessory to Robert Kilroy's prison escape, as Kilroy testified that no such assistance was given.  
  
KILROY Released! Chicago - Musician Robert Kilroy left jail today after having the guilty decision for his murder conviction of five years ago overturned. The case, reopened when Dr. Everett Righteous was arrested on related charges, was found to have been padded with falsified testimony. "The only charges that were actually valid were those pertaining to Robert Kilroy's escape from prison," US District Attorney Greg Stone said, "and in light of the time he spent in jail for a crime he did not commit, we are considering it time served." Kilroy's only comment was that it will be nice to be home for Christmas.  
  
Law 672 Appealed Washington DC - In one of its first acts for the new year, Congress repealed legislative Act #672, which formerly outlawed the playing and purveyance of rock music. Found to be unconstitutional, the reversal of this law leads the way for a mad scramble as entertainment companies rush to book now available musical acts.  
  
Bomber Apprehended Chicago - MMM bombing suspect Reginald McAllister was formally charged and arrested today as evidence mounts against Righteous.  
  
MMM Bombing Conspirator Still Missing Chicago - Investigators still search for Col. Hyde, former Chief of Security for the MMM. Missing since late November, he is wanted for questioning in the murder case the state is building against MMM leader Dr. Everett Righteous.  
  
Testimony Looks Bad For Defense Chicago - The trial of MMM leader Dr. Everett Righteous took a dramatic turn today when former MMM member Alec Cameron took the stand to testify against his past employer. Cameron's testimony covered the discovery of evidence against Righteous in relation to both the MMM headquarters bombing and the murder of an MMM volunteer during the final Kilroy concert. Experts consider the testimony definitive, one commentator calling it 'damning'.  
  
Hearings To Begin Today Washington DC - The Senate Ethics Committee, chaired by junior Congressman Scott Wylie, begins hearings today for six politicians alleged to have accepted bribes from former MMM leader Dr. Everett Righteous.  
  
GUILTY! Jury Holds Righteous Responsible For Bombing Chicago - A jury returned a guilty verdict today in the murder trial of Dr. Everett Righteous. Righteous is expected to be serving a life sentence without parole for the murder of the 39 killed in the MMM building blast. When asked if he would seek the death penalty, US District Attorney General Greg Stone said, "Dr. Righteous can better repay his debt to society by living as an example of how fragile our freedoms as Americans are than by becoming a martyr."  
  
The end of the trial came quickly when convicted MMM bomber Reginald McAllister, who plead guilty to lesser charges of murder in the second degree in exchange for his testimony at Righteous' trial, spoke against Righteous in court. McAllister's testimony indicated Righteous as the sole architect of the plan to frame Jonathan Chance for the bombing in order to destroy public support for his cause. Court security was called in to restrain Righteous when he approached the witness outside the courtroom after session. An appeal was immediately filed on behalf of Dr. Righteous.  
  
Rock 'N' Rollers Freed Chicago - Paul Johanson, William Roland, Anthony Fontana and Salvatore Fontana, all members of the rock band Kilroy, were released today from the MMM prison in which they were held. Since the repeal last month of law 672 which makes the performing of rock music illegal, hundreds of former musicians have been released from MMM jails. "Seeing that the law under which they were imprisoned was found unconstitutional their civil liberties have been violated," Amy Pierce, attorney for the ACLU stated yesterday. "We're considering representing them as a group and bringing up charges against the MMM."  
  
Righteous To Dissolve Holdings Chicago - Dr. Everett Righteous, convicted of murder in the November MMM bombing, has been forced by FCC regulators to sell off the majority of his media holdings to dissolve the monopoly he holds. Money from the sale of the various holdings will go to the fund set up for the families of victims of the blast.  
  
Theater & Rock 'N' Roll Get A New Lease On Life Chicago - The Paradise Theatre, once home to the Dr. Righteous' Museum of Rock Pathology, is being restored to its former glory. Purchased from the now dissolved MMM organization by Big Boy Entertainment, they plan to hold the first rock concert in the U.S. in six years there as soon as restoration is complete. In a related announcement Big Boy released their roster of newly acquired rock acts. Topping off the list was the newly re-formed band Kilroy, all original members returning for a three album recording contract. 


	14. So take your seats and don't be late

So take your seats, and don't be late.  
  
"Hi."  
  
Jon looked up to see Samantha standing next to him. Being a weekday, the bar was virtually empty and very quiet. He motioned for her to pull up a stool next to him.  
  
"Thanks for coming."  
  
She sat, and quickly an uncomfortable silence grew between them. She had no idea what to say to him, the man she had shared her life with for so long. The last few months had seen her feelings for him go from disbelief to anger, and then finally a tentative understanding of what she thought was the truth. Unfortunately with Jonathan she was never sure if she knew the whole story. After ordering a beer she didn't really want, she attempted to start the conversation, as Jon was obviously waiting for her to do. "So, how are you?"  
  
"Good. Things are settling down finally. The first few weeks after the acquittal were insane."  
  
"I can imagine." She recalled the reporters hounding him, the camera crews following him around. What did they call him again? Oh yes, the heroic young man that helped expose corrupt MMM founder, Dr. Everett Righteous. That had to have driven Jon crazy. She knew how he hated attention being drawn to himself; she recalled that he even declined celebrating his birthday for that very reason. "I found a new apartment," he continued, "so I expect Vinny's very happy to have his place back to himself."  
  
"And work?"  
  
A smile appeared on Jon's face. "Believe it or not, that seems to have been the easy part. With all the media attention I actually had my pick of jobs, but I got one special offer I couldn't refuse."  
  
Jon didn't seem to care to elaborate on that and she saw no need to push the issue. This was not why he asked her here, she knew.  
  
"And you?" he asked. "How are things with you?"  
  
"Fine. Same old same old," she responded. Nothing of interest to him had been happening in her life... and she didn't know how to create small talk with him. However, there had been something she had been meaning to tell him. "I saw that speech you made, during that memorial service. You were wonderful."  
  
He fiddled with an already mangled swizzle stick and smiled self- consciously.  
  
"Thanks. It was nothing though, I was just telling the truth."  
  
"You were. I know that now." Samantha thought back to the argument they had the last time they had seen each other. "I was wrong to have mistrusted you, Jon."  
  
"No," he said, shaking his head, "I was the one who was wrong. That's why I asked you here, to apologize to you."  
  
She started to brush off his comments. "There's nothing-" she started, but he cut her off.  
  
"Please, Samantha, let me say this," he said, and she nodded in acquiescence. "What I did was wrong. I lied to you and kept you in the dark for a long time, and then I expected you to accept what I said with no reservations. it was unfair and I'm sorry."  
  
She thought it was sweet that he came all the way down here just to offer an apology. When he wanted to Jon could be very thoughtful. "You had your reasons for not telling me. I suppose you wanted to keep me from getting entangled in the whole thing along with you."  
  
"Yes, that's true," Jon said. His tone of voice told her that there was more to that sentence that there was other things that held him back from sharing his secrets with her. It came as no surprise. After weeks of thinking about it, she realized the heart of their problem was the fact that neither of them felt as if they could entirely trust the other. Trust being one of the pillars a healthy relationship was built on; it was no wonder that theirs had fallen apart. She supposed she should be annoyed he hadn't trusted her, since she didn't really trust him. There was just too much history between them for her to stay angry for long, and besides she had exhausted that emotion a long time ago. All that was left was a melancholy fondness for what once was.  
  
"Well, whatever the reasons were, it's ok. I'm just glad everything worked out for you."  
  
"Believe me, so am I," he said, half joking.  
  
Samantha tried to smile back at him, but failed. They both knew it was over a long time ago, for they could never go back to what they had. It still made her sad, and she sometimes had a hard time remembering just what had brought them together in the first place. "We had some good times, didn't we?"  
  
Jon met her gaze steadily, knowing the empty feeling she had, for his was the same. This was it, the last time they would be together and they both knew it. Although neither of them wanted to take a chance with love again, that didn't make this any easier. No one liked good-byes. "Yeah, we did."  
  
He paused, then looked at his watch and shook his head. He hated to cut this short, but this was one thing he couldn't be late for.  
  
"I'm sorry, I have to go," Jon said with regret as he stood to leave. "It was good seeing you."  
  
"You too."  
  
He fished in his pocket for an envelope and handed it to her. "Here. in case you feel like coming."  
  
She took it from him and watched him walk away until she could no longer distinguish him from the others on the crowded street. Only then did she open the envelope to see what was inside. She smiled at his perseverance; he knew she didn't like that stuff. He'd never stop trying to convert her though.  
  
***********  
  
"Jon!" He looked up from his work to see Vinny and Anne entering the rapidly filling concert hall. They reached the soundboard and Jon came out from behind the equipment to meet them.  
  
"Hey," he said, giving Anne a hug. "How was your steak?"  
  
"Wonderful, just wonderful. It tastes better when you don't have to pay for it, don't you think?" Anne asked teasingly. "But I thought you were going to meet us for dinner?"  
  
"Sorry, I had something I needed to take care of."  
  
Vinny was too busy looking around at the theater to notice his friend's reluctance at answering that question. "This place looks great."  
  
Jonathan nodded his agreement. "Yeah, they did a wonderful job. It was kinda close, but we really needed it done by today, so they pulled it off. Personally, I'm not too concerned with how it looks, but how it will sound."  
  
"It'll be great. I'm sure it'll sound fabulous," Anne added, noting the nervous look on Jonathan's face. Just then someone called Jonathan away, leaving Vinny and Anne to find their seats.  
  
The lights dimmed and the entire building filled with an intense screaming. Jonathan had attended many concerts in his lifetime, but never before had he gotten the feeling from the crowd that he was receiving right now. Pride and wonder filled him, his heart threatening to burst from the beauty of it all. Alec spoke into the headset he wore, giving Jonathan his cue. He flipped a switch and watched Robert stride across the stage, lit only by a single spotlight. From halfway back on the floor, Jonathan could see the smile on his face almost as bright as the spotlight that showed it.  
  
"Welcome to the grand reopening of the Paradise Theatre!" he said triumphantly, one arm rose in greeting. "And happy Independence Day, Chicago!" He lowered his arm as the music started, and the show began.  
  
DON'T LET IT END. 


End file.
